A complete guide to Core Web Vitals - possibly a critical SEO factor?

It is well known that a positive user experience has become a priority for Google in recent years. Not only does the Californian giant want to provide top-quality content for users' specified queries, but it also wants to promote in the search results the fast and efficient sites that provide it. What does the Core Web Vitals ranking factor, announced in mid-2020, have to do with this? What indicators are included in it? How do you find out if your site needs to be optimised for them? You will find the answers to these and many other questions in our guide. 

Core Web Vitals - a brief history

In mid-2020, Google announced changes to its website rating algorithm. The first implementations of Core Web Vitals were announced for June 2021 and began to be phased in so that Google could monitor any anomalies that occurred. The changes (as always) caused a lot of confusion among site owners and SEO professionals. There was uncertainty about what they meant for those running businesses online. After all, their profits and success largely depend on their search engine ranking position. 

It was therefore feared that there would be drastic drops and major reshuffling in the SERPs (search results page). However, as has become clear over time, in most cases the fears turned out to be unfounded. The update seems to have had a greater impact on extensive websites (with thousands of pages). In contrast, smaller sites or small online shops did not see much change in visibility.

Core Web Vitals indicators

Core Web Vitals are a set of indicators related to the speed, responsiveness and visual stability of the pages. They are a component of a larger project - Page Experience Signal (PES)The PES is an update designed to put Google's user experience at the heart of the site. In addition to CWV, the following are important for PES: the adaptation of the website to mobile devices (mobile friendliness), the presence of a protocol HTTPSor the absence of intrusive advertising that impedes the use of the site.

Core Web Vitals comprises three factors: LCP, CLS and FID. Read what's behind each of these abbreviations.

LCP - Largest Contentful Paint 

Determines the loading speed of the most important element on the page, which is visible before scrolling, i.e. above the bend line. The time it takes to render the largest element, in other words, means how long it takes from clicking on the link to see most of the content on the screen. According to Google, loading times should not be more than 2.5 seconds. If the LCP is above 4 seconds, Google will consider such a subpage problematic. It is important that the user sees the first screen as soon as possible and can use the page in question.

How do experts improve the site for LCP?

CLS - Cumulative Layout Shift

It is an indicator that measures the sum of changes that have occurred as a result of an unexpected shift in page layout. It is therefore a metric that measures visual stability. In other words: if the elements on your page move while it is loading, you have a high CLS, and this is a negative. Page elements were stable during loading, so users don't have to re-learn where certain links, images and fields are when the page is fully loaded. It also reduces the likelihood that they will click something by mistake. 

According to Google, a CLS score is satisfactory when it indicates the absence of unrelated user actions and is in the range 0-0.1. A value above 0.25 will be considered by Google as requiring urgent optimisation.

How do experts improve the site for CLS?

FID - First Input Delay

It represents a delay in the site's response to an action taken by the Internet user. It should be noted, however, that FID applies only to the user's first interaction on the site, the first action, at which the moment of its termination can be determined. Scrolling therefore does not count as an action. In other words, FID measures the time taken by the user to actually interact with your website.

Examples of such interactions include:

• selecting options from the menu
• clicking on a link in the site navigation
• entering your e-mail address in the field

According to Google, processing times should be less than 100 milliseconds. A result of more than 300 milliseconds may already negatively affect the user's experience with the website, according to Google. 

Attention: work on new indicator on response timeswhich may replace First Input Delay (FID) in the future.

How do experts improve the site for FID?

Measuring Core Web Vitals - laboratory data versus collected data

Sources of information on Core Web Vitals are divided into two types: laboratory data (lab data) and collected data (field data).

• Laboratory data - is information showing what a potential internet user's experience of a website might be. During the test, the tool runs the page in question and performs a series of tests on a specific computer and under specific conditions (internet connection speed, processor performance). Laboratory data can be found, for example, in the tool GTMetrix.
• Data collected - come from real visits by users using the Chrome browser and illustrate the average of Core Web Vitals indicators over the last 28 days. The data collected can be found in Google Search Console.

Explore the Core Web Vitals of your site - tools

PageSpeed Insights - simply enter the following address in the tool's main panel URLwhich you wish to verify against Core Web Vitals. PageSpeed Insight will present you with both laboratory and collected data. In addition, you will receive a set of guidelines for suggested changes to the site.

Google Search Console - Log in to your dashboard, then select Enhancements --> Basic web indicators. W Google Search Console you will find reports for both computers and mobile devices.

GTMetrix - another tool for measuring Core Web Vitals. However, in this case you can only check the results for desktop for free. For access to data for mobile devices, you have to pay in the Starter plan 20$ per month when billing annually.

Attention: The PageSpeed Insights and GTMetrix tools provide results for a specific URL and not the entire website. For this reason, it is worth verifying pages of different types, e.g. homepage, shopping cart, category (in the case of online shops).

Web dev - allows you to check the CWV and provides tips for optimising your site.

WebPage Test - another tool that takes laboratory data into account and presents the results in an accessible, graphical way

When is it worth conducting a Core Web Vitals audit?

Improve Core Web Vitals and ensure your position in Google!

Remember, if you don't take care of CWV and your competitors adapt to Google's standards, your website's position in the organic results may be negatively affected. Basic web metrics require attention. Websites optimised for them will provide users with a high user experience and thus reduce the rejection rate. If you want to make sure your website is well optimised, come to us!