How Core Web Vitals Influence Your Google Ranking

In mid-June 2021, Google introduced an important update to its algorithm. Core Web Vitals have now become a key factor in determining how well your website ranks in search results. This update started rolling out at the end of August 2021, and it considers things like page load speed, responsiveness, and visual stability to help determine how well a page performs.

Mel Gibbons

13 May, 2021

What is page experience?

Page experience is a set of factors that show how users will perceive a particular webpage. It looks at things like:

How fast your page loads
How well your page works on mobile devices
Whether ads or content are intrusive
If content shifts around as the page loads

Page experience includes several existing on-page metrics that Google has been using for some time. These include:

Mobile-friendliness: Your page should work well on both desktop and mobile.
Safe browsing: Your site should be free of malicious or deceptive content.
HTTPS security: Your site should use a secure connection (HTTPS).
No intrusive interstitials: Your page shouldn’t use ads or pop-ups that disrupt the user experience.

What are Core Web Vitals?

Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that Google uses to assess how users experience a page. They focus on three key aspects:

1. Page Loading (Largest Contentful Paint – LCP): This measures how fast the main content of a page loads. Aim for LCP to occur within 2.5 seconds of the page starting to load.

2. Interactivity (First Input Delay – FID): This measures how quickly your page responds when someone first interacts with it. Aim for a FID of less than 100 milliseconds.

3. Visual Stability (Cumulative Layout Shift – CLS): This measures if content moves around as the page loads. To avoid a poor experience, your CLS should be below 0.1.

These are the key elements that Google now uses to decided if your website is offering a good user experience.

How to Improve Your Core Web Vitals

If you want to improve your ranking and page experience, here are some steps to help:

Optimise for mobile: Make sure your website works well on mobile devices.
Improve page speed: Reduce the size of large images and remove unnecessary files that slow down loading time.
Avoid layout shifts: Ensure that content such as images and buttons don’t move around as the page loads.

Page Experience report

With this update, Google will also release a Page Experience Report in Search Console. This will show how your site scores on the key page experience factors, including:

Core Web Vitals
Mobile-friendliness
HTTPS security
Safe browsing

Search Performance Report

Google’s updated Search Performance Report will also allow you to filter pages based on their page experience. This way, you can compare how pages with a good experience perform against those with less-than-ideal performance. This could help you pinpoint which areas need more work.

Content Still Matters

While Core Web Vitals and page experience play a bigger role in rankings, content remains just as important. Google will continue to prioritise high-quality, relevant content. So, while improving page experience is essential, don’t forget to focus on providing valuable and informative content for your audience.

What Now?

If you’ve already been working on your website’s user experience, this update might not be too much of a shock. But with the introduction of these new Core Web Vitals metrics, it’s a good time to check on how your site is performing.

At Online Path, we stay updated with all the latest changes, so you don’t have to. If you need help improving your Core Web Vitals and page experience, our team can support you in making sure your website ranks well and provides the best user experience possible.