Search engines have always prioritized user experience, but Google has taken things up a notch with Core Web Vitals. These metrics make it easy to understand how user-friendly your site is or perhaps isn’t. Use this knowledge to make your site as user-friendly as possible so search engines will be more inclined to send traffic your way. Your Core Web Vital scores can be found within Google Search Console. All of Google’s Core Web Vitals matter, but here are some of the top metrics to consider to improve your site.
LCP
Standing for Largest Contentful Paint, this metric tells you how long your site’s biggest content component takes to load. The target time is under 2.5 seconds. You want a quick load time because users expect it, and no one has the patience for a slow site.
Improve your site’s LCP by getting rid of render-blocking Java and CSS, reducing server response time, and optimizing resource loading.
INP
Interaction to Next Paint measures how quickly the site responds to user-generated changes. When you add an item to your cart, INP measures how long it takes until the cart icon updates from empty to show there is something in it.
A good INP is 200 milliseconds or less, while anything over 500 milliseconds is bad news. Fix a bad INP score by improving server response time, eliminating unnecessary tasks, and prioritizing essential actions.
Updated Metric
Core Web Vitals previously provided FID or First Input Delay. INP replaced FID, but you’ll still see FID mentioned in older articles. INP is a better metric because it measures all the instances in which the site responds to a user, from clicking a link, starting a video, adding items to a cart, etc. FID only measures the first instance, so the additional data is not measured or considered.
CLS
Cumulative Layout Shift measures how much things unexpectedly move around above the fold while the page loads. You’ve waited for a site to load and seen different components quickly flutter across the screen as everything comes together – the time it takes to work out is what CLS measures. A poor CLS speed is frustrating because a user may move the cursor to click a link or button only for it to suddenly relocate somewhere else on the page.
A good CLS score is less than 0.1, but anything over 0.25 is bad news and must be addressed immediately. Improve your CLS score by adding height and width attributes to your image tags. Utilizing fixed image sizes stabilizes the layout. Include space for ads in your layout and give them a fixed size, too.
Monitor Core Web Vitals
Maintaining good Core Web Vitals ensures your site performs well, giving users a better experience. Keeping up with your site takes time, as well as understanding what these metrics mean and how to optimize everything. If you find it impossible to address your Core Web Vitals or are unsure where to start, I can help. An SEO audit will review all aspects of your site and ensure everything works as it should to provide the best user experience for your visitors. Reach out to learn more and schedule your site audit!
