Google announced in May 2021 that it would introduce Core Web Vitals to help assess a quality user experience on a web page. While Google wasn’t direct about if and how these vital reports alone would factor into SERP rankings, they are valuable. These statistics speak to the user experience on the site, and we know that a good user experience decreases the bounce rate.
There are three core web vitals via Google Console:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): The amount of time to render the largest content element visible in the viewport, from when the user requests the URL. The largest element is typically an image or video or, perhaps, a large block-level text element. This is important because it tells the reader that the URL is actually loading.
- FID (First Input Delay): The time from when a user first interacts with your page (when they clicked a link, tapped on a button, and so on) to the time when the browser responds to that interaction. This measurement is taken from whatever interactive element that the user first clicks. This is important on pages where the user needs to do something because this is when the page has become interactive.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): CLS measures the sum total of all individual layout shift scores for every unexpected layout shift that occurs during the entire lifespan of the page. The score is zero to any positive number, where zero means no shifting and the larger the number, the more layout shift on the page. This is important because having pages elements shift while a user is trying to interact with it is a bad user experience.
How Do We Check?
Google offers the definitions and how to check your site’s Core Web Vital scores through Google Console. After a site is enrolled for a period of time, Google Console will begin to return information regarding several areas of your site, all tied to functionality. Once there is enough data to act, each issue can be addressed such as images not loading, lack of mobile optimization, and link performance.
Hammersmith Support Can Help
Understanding Core Web Vitals in order to improve site functionality is just another tool in our tool belt! We can evaluate your site and offer you options on how it can be improved. And we can keep your site running smoothly and functioning optimally with our monthly maintenance packages. Set up a complimentary 30-minute meeting and let’s talk about your business and how we can help you.