With the upcoming of 2021, Google has plans to introduce some massive updates. Is your website ready for the same? Yes, it is a big question that might have blown the minds of many. Your site needs to be positioned well on the Google rankings to deliver positive results, and this is not an easy cake to digest. You can stay prepared for that just by getting aware of Google’s upcoming algorithm update, i.e., the core web vitals, which will easily identify the ranking signals. Other than that, you need to prepare your site according to the specific metrics based on the Google Core Web Vitals update. It is counted to be the main priority for the improvement of your website.
Before going further, it is essential to understand the exact meaning of Core Web Vitals.Â
Core Web Vitals – Meaning:
Core Web Vitals can be defined as the metrics from Google that indicate your website’s user experience. In simple terms, it is the alterations made by Google in its ranking algorithm, depending on the user experience. It involves three main segments: Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift. All three of these collaborate with the Core Web Vitals, and it involves the measurement of certain things of your respective website, including interactivity, loading speed, visual stability, and more. The changes done by Google is to offer the best user experience.Â
To familiarise this subject to you, here we are providing in-depth information on the same.
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Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):
For measuring the loading speed of a website, LCP is there. This reports the render time of the content visible in the viewport. It is probably an image or a video, and you need to make sure that it needs to be loaded in the minimum time span. LCP of 2.5 seconds and even less is considered in the good category.
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First Input Delay (FIP):
Next in this category is First Input Delay that relatively measures the interactivity of the respective website. This shows how much time a user has to wait for the browser to respond. To understand this, let’s take an example. If you are clicking on a particular website’s homepage, then ideally, it needs to be open in less than 100 milliseconds.
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Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):
This can be defined as the latest introduction to this series; in comparison to LCP and FIP. It is responsible for calculating the layout shift of your website during the loading phase. If your site shows a high shift, then it will only be inconvenient for the users. For a matter, they will accidentally purchase something instead of canceling the order just due to the existence of the shift in different pages.
Why There is a Need for Core Web Vitals?
The primary reason to have Core Web Vitals is to enhance user experience level, and due to this, Google keeps on updating. High importance is given to the customer’s needs, so different approaches are used to maximize UX and leverage. Google focuses on a customer-first approach to incorporate Core Web Vitals as ranking factors.Â
To explain this concept in simple words, Google will enhance your website’s ranking on SERPs if you hold better metrics leading to better UX.
Now the question is, if Core Web Vitals Update is this important, then what should be done to make your website ready for the same. In this article, you will get the answer below.
Tips & Tricks to Prepare your Website for Core Web Vitals Update!
Prioritize your Content:
You might have heard it many times, but yes, content is still the king when it comes to getting noticed on Google. You won’t believe it, but the fact is the relevance of content is above the page experience. Work on high-quality content formation to give unlimited reasons to your website visitors to become your loyal customers. Â
Mobile-Responsiveness:
If your website is not mobile-friendly by 2020, then you are definitely losing some important connections. Yes, Google also pays special attention to this feature, just as the SEO experts. Enhancement in usability and easy accessibility to users are definitely the priorities for Google.
Image Optimization:
It is often seen that a number of websites work on the main image or the banner that is placed on the top of the web page. Yes, it works, but there is a regular need to optimize it too for better results. Try to evaluate all the images on your website because the unoptimized stuff will only lead to a lack of performance.
The Response Time:
Make sure you upgrade your web hosting on a regular basis as it will make the overall response time faster, which automatically improves your overall metrics. Pay special consideration to FID. It should not be more than 300 ms and make it less than 100 ms for the best outcomes. This also reduces the delays that happen in user interactions.
Why Is Above-The-Fold Content Important?
If a user is reaching your website, then it is due to the Above-The-Fold Content that appears foremost. It is essential if you are looking from a sales and marketing perspective. Optimize your Above-The-Fold Content first as it will affect the overall productivity.
Reserve Space for Loading Content:
There is a need to keep the CLS less than 0.1 or even below that for expected results to happen. By including height and width on your visual and video elements, it becomes easy to achieve this figure. In this way, the browser can allocate the right amount of space, leading to minimum shifts taking place from one web page to another.
Google Optimization Tools:
By taking into account the Web Vitals tools like PageSpeed Insights, Chrome UX report, Lighthouse, and more, you can quickly meet the standards of Google.Â
There can be a number of other tactics and strategies that you can follow to get your website ready for Core Web Vitals Update. Navigate your website yourself or take the help of friends to find the possible issues with the same.
Final Thoughts:
Without a doubt, Google’s Core Web Vitals is the new method of measuring the user experience level. Within a few months, it is expected that the page experience algorithm will see changes, so it is the best time to pay more consideration to your page experience. If you proceed in the right direction, then fetching higher ranks and boosting the performance of your website can be done without much hassle. All you need is to stay ready in advance, and the above-mentioned points will definitely help you in achieving that.