Last year, Google announced a new algorithm update that will affect the SEO ranking of websites by adding new metrics to measure the experience of interacting with a web page. Google algorithm update will finally arrive by May 2021 and has the sole purpose of increasing the value of a website beyond the information that is being displayed: the new algorithm rewards fluidity, simpleness, and quick response times over unnecessary layouts and page features that stop users from enjoying your content.
How does this update work?
Google algorithm update works by adding three vital signals to the algorithm, which will be the center of the new Core Web Vitals: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Each one measures a different part of the user experience and will have a crucial role in the assessment of your SEO ranking.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
It analyzes your website’s loading speed by measuring how long it takes to load the largest image or text block visible within the viewport. According to Google guidelines, a site with a good LCP renders the main element of the page -text or image- in less than 2.5 seconds from the start of the load. This is one of the nicest additions for the Google algorithm update, forcing website owners to figure out ways to improve the fluidity of their pages in both mobile and desktop versions.
First Input Delay (FID)
This metric analyzes the interactivity and responsiveness of your website by measuring the time in which users can actually use your page and interact with its elements. As opposed to the LCP, the FID is not meant to evaluate your rendering speed: this signal is rather used to check how long it takes users to use your page features as intended. Pages with a good PID load their features correctly in less than 100 milliseconds, which means that the Google algorithm update will force websites to improve the way in which users interact with content.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Finally, the Cumulative Layout Shift assesses the visual stability of your website by measuring the chances of experiencing unexpected layout changes. This prevents websites from adding annoying page changes that could seriously damage the user experience: for example, when a person tries to click a “dismiss” button, but the button changes place and instead forces the user to click a “buy now” button, leading to another page that wasn’t intended to be visited in the first place. According to Google algorithm update guidelines, sites should strive to have a CLS score of less than 0.1 to offer a good user experience, away from annoying layout changes that modify the aspect of a website without a single warning.
Signals that stay unmodified
Core Web Vitals join other signals that have been used by Google to improve user experience over the course of the years. These signals will stay unmodified during the Google algorithm update of May 2021:
- Mobile-Friendliness: Is your website properly adapted to support mobile features? Create or improve your mobile website with the help of our experts.
- Safe Browsing: Does your page contains any malicious or deceptive content that threatens the safety, privacy, and well-being of users? In BKL, we can easily check if there are any cracks in your system security that could be exploited by hackers to damage your user experience.
- HTTPS: Is your website hosted in an HTTPS server?
- No intrusive interstitials: Does your website contain any unnecessary pop-ups or banners that block users from easily accessing your content? Search engines firmly penalize your SEO ranking if this happens, and will surely keep tracking this during the Google algorithm update that will take place in May.
Improve your SEO ranking and website performance
Google algorithm update poses a new challenge for website owners. Having a good SEO ranking is one of the keys to improving your website position within search engine results, increasing the number of visitors, and further expanding your business online performance. In BLK, we strive to offer clean and optimized websites, with quick rendering, stable performance, and flawless interactivity.
12+ years of experience serving a cutting-edge role in the tech space make us your best option to develop incredible websites. Big Kitty Labs’ goal is not only to assist you throughout the development of your project but to become a long-time partner that will be at your side to provide you the best IT solutions.
