Google’s New Ranking Signal – Core Web Vitals

We always want a great web page experience when given a choice. Google understands every wish of yours and therefore, the experience criteria will count from now on. Google has already started its preparations to introduce its new ranking signal. The existing user experience signals will be combined with Core Web Vitals. This is being done keeping in view the overall experience that a page provides. The announcement has been made and the new ranking signal is set to launch in the year 2021.

What is the new ranking signal known as?

Page experience signal or page experience update is the name given to the upcoming ranking signal. The existing page experience signals like safe browsing, speed, interstitial guidelines, and mobile friendliness will also be a part of the page experience update apart from the Core Web Vitals. The motive behind the new update is to enhance the user experience by making the web more interesting. It helps the sites progress towards the expectations of the users while they surf the web on their devices.

Knowing the Core Web Vitals

They are a set of metrics that comprise the Core Web Vitals. They help the site owners to measure the user experience. This is done through interactivity, loading, and the visual stability of the page. The metrics are designed in a user-centered way and quantify the essential aspects of the user experience. The dimensions of web usability are measured with the help of these metrics. These metrics have been defined here.

LCP- The actual time taken by the main content of the page to load is defined as the Largest Contentful Paint or the LCP. Ideally, the LCP should either be approximately 3 seconds or even faster.

CLS- The total amount of the unexpected layout shift of the visual page content is called as the Cumulative Layout Shift or the CLS. It should always be less than 0.1 seconds.

FID- The time taken by a page to become interactive is called the First Input Delay. It should ideally be less than 100 seconds.

What is the aim behind the new ranking signal?

The prime motive of Google is to help the site owners to create pages that improve the user experience and give an enjoyable experience to the users. Hence, these new ranking factors are being combined with the already existing user experience signals. This will help the sites to perform better based on the basic idea of user experience. The pages that offer user experience of high-quality then will be determined by Google according to page experience signal and consequently, the page will be ranked higher in the search results of Google.

Not only does the user experience will be countable but also the relevance of the content being provided by the site. Any site that provides relevant content to its users and solves the query of the users in seconds with its relevant content will be ranked higher in comparison to a page with high page experience signal but zero content relevance. Definitely, the content relevance of the site will be the topmost priority.

Will this be a tiebreaker? 

Google clearly mentions that the new ranking signal can be a tiebreaker in difficult situations. When two pages or sites are providing high-quality content with relevance and both have a good page experience signal then the page with the stronger signal will be ranked on the top of the Google search results. The content of the site must not be compromised at any cost. In certain situations, excellent quality and relevant content can overshadow a page that provides a stronger page experience.

How will the Core Web Vitals be measured?

Certain tools help in measuring the Core Web Vitals. Site owners can make use of these tools to measure them. These tools are Lighthouse, Chrome UX report, Search Console, Chrome Dev Tools as well as Page Speed Insights. Efforts are on to bring Core Web Vitals for other tools that will be able to measure them with accuracy.

Wrapping Up

While the preparations for the launch of the new ranking signal are on, Google has notified that the site owners can take their own time as the changes will not be made before the commencement of 2021. The new ranking signal is expected to provide a better experience for the users.