Google SEO - Core Web Vitals

Google Introduces Core Web Vitals: New SEO Factors for User Experience

Google has announced three new essential values for measuring user experience, which will become determining factors in the page ranking algorithm in search results.

These indicators, called Core Web Vitals, are designed to assess:

• Loading speed (Largest Contentful Paint - LCP).
• Level of interactivity (First Input Delay - FID).
• Visual stability (Cumulative Layout Shift - CLS).

These factors, along with mobile compatibility, safety, security, and the absence of intrusive ads, will form the new set of parameters for evaluating web pages.

Core Web Vitals Description

1. Loading Speed - Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

LCP measures the time required for the main visible content on the page to load. It replaces previous metrics such as First Paint or Time to Interactive.

• Good: under 2.5 seconds.
• Medium: between 2.5 and 4 seconds.
• Poor: over 4 seconds.

To improve LCP, Google recommends optimizing server response time, fast loading of resources, and reducing render-blocking elements.

2. Interactivity Level - First Input Delay (FID)

FID measures the time to first user interaction, such as a click or key press.

• Good: under 100 milliseconds.
• Medium: between 100 and 300 milliseconds.
• Weak: over 300 milliseconds.

For laboratory testing, FID is replaced with Total Blocking Time (TBT). Recommended optimizations include code splitting and reducing JavaScript usage.

3. Visual Stability - Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

CLS evaluates the visual stability of a page by analyzing unexpected layout shifts. An optimal score is achieved by ensuring predefined sizes for images and avoiding the insertion of content over already displayed elements.

• Good: under 0.1.
• Medium: between 0.1 and 0.25.
• Weak: over 0.25.

Tools for Analyzing Core Web Vitals

To evaluate and improve Core Web Vitals scores, you can use:

• PageSpeed Insights
• Chrome UX Report
• Search Console
• Web Vitals Extension
• Lighthouse Extension

The Impact of Core Web Vitals on SEO

Google will use Core Web Vitals as a differentiating factor between pages with similar content. The weight of these factors is distributed as follows:

• LCP: 25%.
• FID: 25%.
• CLS: 5%.

Starting in 2021, Core Web Vitals will become official signals in the SEO ranking algorithm.

Hostico and Core Web Vitals

The solutions offered by Hostico xCMS include advanced SEO optimizations and the implicit implementation of Core Web Vitals standards. In addition, the use of the Google Pagespeed module facilitates adaptation to new requirements.

For support in optimizing Core Web Vitals, the Hostico team is at your disposal with personalized solutions for improved performance and SEO ranking.