What are Core Web Vitals?
While SEO focuses on the use of keywords, Core Web Vitals refers to the overall experience a user has while visiting a website. These three vitals are loading, interactivity, and visual stability. While not considered core vitals, other factors that Google will consider are how mobile-friendly your page is, how safe it is to browse the website and if the site is free from intrusive interstitials. In the past few years, user experience has soured to the top of marketers list for the most important SEO factor, Google has recognised this and are taking action to reward these people!
Loading
Referred to as Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), this basically refers to the time it takes for someone to click on a page and the relevant content to load up. This differs from other forms of speed measurement because they don’t necessarily reflect the experience of the user.
Interactivity
Google talks about this in terms of First Input Delay (FID). Essentially, this looks at how easy it is for a user to interact with your page, whether it is choosing an option on a menu or how the text opens up when you are looking at the website with your phone.
This is not necessarily a concern for pages with little interactivity such as news sites (where you click on a story, perhaps take a closer look at a photo, or zoom in if the text is a bit small).
Visual stability
You might see this referred to as Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). This looks at how well the page holds while something loads. If it moves around a lot that means your website will have a high CLS (which is bad.)
The reason this is important is so when a page loads everything is in the same place. A user is then less likely to click something by mistake, making the process smoother (especially if you want them to buy something through your website).
No need to panic
Naturally, some people may be worried that their website does not line up in terms of their Core Web Vitals. It is important to note that Google is aware of this, giving websites a 12 month grace period that will allow them to improve their scores.
It is also important to note that your vitals are not the only area to be aware of. The quality of your content will still be a factor and SEO will still be important.
We can help
If you are a new business looking to promote online or an established business getting used to online promotion, this can all seem a bit overwhelming, especially if you have just got used to the idea of promotion via SEO.
What you need to remember is that over the next year it is simply a matter of creating content that people will engage with, while also making sure that the platform the content is on (your website) is working at the best possible level. A more satisfying user experience means that people are more likely to come back, leave positive feedback and encourage people to come to you.
To find out more about how we can improve your Core Web Vitals, as well as other forms of online promotion such as graphic design, video, and social media marketing please contact Baobab Marketing today so we can go over your current website and show you how we can get your business ready for the next big Google update.
If you’d like to learn more about SEO, you can read our blog about how to create a watertight SEO strategy, by clicking here!
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