How to Prepare for the Upcoming Google Algorithm Changes better known as “Core Web Vitals”
Every so often, Google likes to pull the rug out from under us and change up its algorithm. While it’s all for the sake of a better user experience, it can be frustrating and time-consuming to adjust to search engine algorithm updates.
Think about it: you spend hours upon hours perfecting your SEO strategy, only for it to change. Not to fear, though; to make the upcoming Google algorithm change as painless as possible, we’ve compiled some useful info. Follow our tips, and your SERP shouldn’t suffer come May 2021– it might even improve!
What Are the New Factors?
There are three main factors that Google’s May 2021 algorithm update is addressing: loading time, visual stability, and interactivity.
Loading Time
The loading time is the perceived elapsed time from when the customer enters your URL into their search bar (or clicks on a link to your site) and the time when they can view major elements of your site. If your visitors have to wait forever to view your pages, that’s a pretty bad experience – wouldn’t you agree? It is recommended to have an LCP score below 2.5 seconds across mobile and desktop devices.
Visual Stability
After the page loads, perhaps the user would like to scroll to the bottom of the page. Visual stability ensures the text and images on the page stay in their position and do not move erratically. Visual stability is tested with the Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), and it is recommended to have a CLS score of less than 0.1
Interactivity
Have you ever clicked on a site image and had to wait foreeeeeever for it to respond? That’s poor interactivity. Interactivity measures the time between clicking on the image and when the browser begins to process a response to that interaction. This is tested with the First Input Delay (FID), and it’s recommended to have a score of less than 100 milliseconds.
What Is Staying the Same?
These new factors will be add-ons to the signals Google already uses to evaluate the Page Experience algorithm instead of a complete rewrite. Here’s what they already evaluate:
1. Mobile-friendliness: Making the content readable without zooming in but ensuring the aesthetics are maintained with the right amount of space between text and images.
2. Safe browsing: This tool goes through the page before it’s accessible to the user to ensure the page doesn’t contain malware or other deceptive content.
3. HTTPS: This secures the page the user is on and ensures that any information they share with the website is completely private.
4. No intrusive interstitials: It ensures the content is easily accessible to the user and not marred by pop-ups that take over the screen.
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