If you keep up on marketing news, you may have heard of the Google Core Web Vitals update happening this year. This announcement has shaken up the SEO world, and marketers are scrambling to make sure their sites are prepared in time.
Whether you’re still confused by what “core web vitals” even means, or you’re already panicking, we’re here for you (and we promise there’s no need to panic!).
Read on to learn what the Google Core Web Vitals update is, when it’s happening, and what you need to do now to earn a passing score on Google PageSpeed Insights.
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What Is the Core Web Vitals Update?
The Core Web Vitals update,also known as the Page Experience Update, is a Google algorithm update that focuses on user experience. It uses certain page experience metrics, called search signals, to assess the user experience of a particular URL and factor that into its ranking algorithm.
These page experience search signals include the following:
- The Mobile Friendly signal confirms your page is mobile-friendly using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
- The Safe Browsing signal checks that your page doesn’t contain any malicious or deceptive content like malware or phishing. You can confirm that you don’t with the Security Issues report in Google Search Console.
- The HTTPS signal was introduced as a ranking signal a few years ago. If your site is secured with HTTPS, you’re good to go here. You can tell if it is if you see a lockbox icon next to the URL in your browser, like this:
- The No Intrusive Interstitials signal checks that your site doesn’t contain intrusive pop ups or interstitials that make your content less accessible to a user. Here are a few examples:
- The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) signal measures how quickly your page loads. To pass, LCP should load within 2.5 seconds or less.
- The First Input Delay (FID) signal measures the interactivity of your page. To pass, FID should be 100 milliseconds or less.
- The Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) signal measures the visual stability of your page. To pass, your CLS score should be less than 0.1
These last three signals make up the Core Web Vitals.
When Is the Core Web Vitals Update Happening?
Google first announced the Core Web Vitals update back in May 2020. In November 2020, they announced that they’d be rolling it out in May 2021. That means that in May 2021, Google will start factoring in page experience signals — including Core Web Vitals — when determining how to rank your website in Google Search.
3 Steps to Take to Prepare for the Core Web Vitals Update
2021 just started, so you still have time to prepare your website for Google’s Core Web Vitals update. Here’s what you need to do now.
1. Login to Google Search Console.
If you don’t already have Google Search Console set up, you should do that immediately here. This tool provides essential insights into how your website performs in search, from SEO to PPC.
If you’re already set up Google Search Console, login and navigate to Enhancements > Core Web Vitals on the lower left.
2. Identify What Needs to Be Fixed.
This screen will provide an overview of how each of your URLs measures up when it comes to Core Web Vitals, on both desktop and mobile.
Click “Open Report” to see what needs to be fixed. Google will provide a list of the Core Web Vitals issues it’s noticed with your site.
3. Get Started Fixing!
The next step is fixing your red and yellow issues and turning them green. Once you’ve made a fix, you can go back to the Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console, click on the issue, and click the “Validate Fix” button.
At Your Marketing People, the biggest issue we have seen for our clients has been Cumulative Layout Shifts (CLS) — and that’s largely because we have already optimized their sites over the years by making the sites mobile-friendly, securing them with HTTPS, lazy loading their images and more.
The CLS problem occurs because certain elements on the page are loading at different times, creating a situation where the user tries to click on a form field, button, or something else — but just as they’re about to tap it, it moves and they end up clicking something else. Here’s a short video showing what we mean.
This experience is incredibly frustrating for users, which is why Google is including it in the Core Web Vitals update.
We highly recommend logging into your Google Search Console and getting ready for the update as soon as possible. Want some help? Contact Your Marketing People. Our SEO experts are working now to ensure our clients get passing scores on all the Core Web Vitals!
