For the longest time, Google — the world’s biggest and most trusted search engine by a significant margin — relied quite heavily on SEO or search engine optimization, to tailor its search results. This means that Google’s algorithm would spend all its time and energy focusing on SEO-friendly keywords based on the user’s search.
Beyond SEO, Google’s search algorithm would also look out for factors like how mobile-friendly the site was, how safe it was to browse and other basic metrics like this. The issue with this is that it didn’t always yield the greatest or the highest-quality results. This obviously proved to be a problem for those working in the field of digital marketing.
Thankfully for those in digital marketing who work to grow the web presence of various companies (and the businesses who hire them), Google changed the way their search algorithm worked back in May of 2020 with the introduction of Core Web Vitals.
That’s not all, though: recently, only about a year after their initial switch-up, Google changed the Core Web Vitals algorithm once again. While each new change is undoubtedly for the better, it’s worth discussing what these Core Web Vitals are and what these changes mean for SEO and digital marketing.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
While Google announced Core Web Vitals back in May of 2020, the concept at the heart of this announcement has been around for far longer: In essence, Core Web Vitals are Google’s answer to the age-old metrics that websites observe to measure their page’s overall health. Google’s Core Web Vitals are user-focused, working to help sites ensure they are giving visitors a seamless, trouble-free user experience.
At the start, the Core Web Vitals consisted of three main metrics: the content loading speed, the site’s interactivity and the visual stability of the website. These Core Web Vitals were designed to work in conjunction with traditional SEO, which still matters for search results just as much as ever, but is no longer the only metric that propels a search result higher or lower on the page. But that’s not all anymore — Google recently made a significant change to these Core Web Vitals.
What Changed About Google’s Core Web Vitals?
After its launch in May of 2020, Google began to go to work on improving the algorithms of the Core Web Vitals, helping them to better quantify the smaller details to make them more accurate. This improved accuracy has resulted in the discovery of a few blind spots in the existing Core Web Vitals and the need for the introduction of three new Core Web Vitals in addition to the existing ones.
Introduced throughout the summer of 2021, these three are Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint, or LCP, is a metric that observes the average time it takes for the main content on a page to load. (This includes both media and text.)
First Input Delay (FID)
First Input Delay, or FID, is used to monitor the amount of time it takes for a website to respond to a user’s action — this could be as simple as a click or a search, but the speed at which the website responds to the action is what really matters here.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Cumulative Layout Shift ,or CLS, monitors a page’s stability as the website loads. This metric addresses websites that shift and reshape as images and videos on the page load, which often results in users making frustrating accidental clicks.
Why Google’s New Core Web Vitals Matter for Strong SEO
While you know that Google has added three new Core Web Vitals to the pre-existing three, you might be wondering what these web vitals actually mean for strong digital marketing or SEO. Simply put, these new Core Web Vitals matter because they continue to push Google’s search engine algorithm and its rankings closer to being truly user-centric. Not only this, but these new Core Web Vitals also make it easier to see exactly what their website lacks.
In years past, businesses simply had to make an educated guess as to what was pushing them lower in the search results. With the addition of these new Core Web Vitals, a business’s digital marketing and SEO can be strengthened by merely observing the scores presented by the Core Web Vitals and making the necessary adjustments as needed. Of course, metrics can’t possibly quantify a website’s entire user experience from start to finish, but each new metric that Google ads will only help businesses and digital marketing experts strengthen sites in an effective, strategic way.
The Bottom Line: How Google’s New Core Web Vitals Impact Digital Marketing
Over the years, many have wondered if Google shows preferential treatment to certain websites over others. In truth, there’s no preferential treatment going on. The algorithm prioritizes websites with the best SEO and the best Core Web Vitals scores — it’s as simple as that. That’s the kind of impact these new Core Web Vitals have on a business’s digital marketing: They’re the difference between a low ranking and a high ranking.
Interested in seeing where your business’s website ranks with Google’s new Core Web Vitals? Or hoping to improve your site’s SEO score? Get in touch with EverConvert for all your SEO and digital marketing needs. EverConvert’s digital marketing experts offer a free SEO analysis to help you grow your company’s web presence like never before. Contact EverConvert today to learn more.
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