Google always endeavours to provide its users with the best possible results in the context of the search engine. In order to further improve the user experience, the Core Web Vitals were recently introduced. These metrics help Google to better evaluate the views on both the mobile device and the desktop version.

The Core Web Vitals consist of three factors that are primarily intended to capture the speed of the website as well as its type. After all, a website should be set up as quickly as possible so that the user doesn’t have to wait too long. The slower the content of a website is loaded, the worse its performance will be rated in the future.

Important core web vitals that are available:

The Core Web Vitals are divided into three areas:

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

This factor is especially important for the loading speed of a website. It determines the loading time that the largest element of the website needs to fully build up.

FID (First Input Delay)

The FID is used to determine how long it takes for the server to react to the first interaction of the user. So it indicates how quickly the website reacts, for example when the user scrolls.

CLS (Comulative Layout Shift)

You probably also know the problem that you want to look at a piece of content on a website, but it suddenly jumps to another place because the website is still building. The CLS indicates how much the website changes during the loading process. The more stable it is, the better it is rated.

Why are core web vitals important and how do they affect SEO?

The user experience is one of the most important quality factors at Google. This means the better the user-friendliness, the better the chances that the website will rank well. And the Core Web Vitals have a decisive influence on this user-friendliness. This means that bad core web vitals can also have a negative effect on the search engine ranking.

The user experience also includes factors such as mobile optimization, which has already been in focus in recent years, as well as the fact that the user can find his way around easily.

But even the smallest negative rating in the context of the Core Web Vitals is enough for the website to be ranked worse. If you consider that 90 percent of the time, attention is paid to only the search results on page one on Google, this can be fatal. It is therefore important to consider the Core Web Vitals and optimize them.

How are Core Web Vitals measured?

Google makes it easy for you to measure the new Core Web Vitals by clearly indicating which values ​​are good and which are bad. This means that you can see at a glance which points you need to work on in order to improve the performance of your website and have a lasting positive influence on the search engine ranking.

Either “laboratory values” or “field data” are used for the evaluation. Field data is usually available to you if a website has been around for a long time and a corresponding number of users have already used it. The corresponding data records are derived from the existing user data, provided that the users agree to the measurement.

If such user data does not exist, it makes more sense to experiment with “laboratory values”. These offer two decisive advantages over field data:

1. They can always be used.
2. It is easy to see which changes have a direct positive or negative impact on the website.

The analysis offers an optimal result if both historical data – i.e. field data – and “laboratory data” are available.

How Can I Achieve Good Core Web Vitals?

Improve the LCP:

The LCP deals with the loading time of the largest element of a website. It is considered good if this element takes less than 2.5 seconds to fully charge. If it takes between 2.6 to 4.0 seconds, the value is mediocre. Google rates a value of 4.1 seconds or more as poor. In this case, you should definitely edit the respective elements.

Improve the FID:

This value deals with how quickly the website responds. It, therefore, takes a user’s action to determine the value.

In order to use a meaningful laboratory value instead of real user data, you can evaluate the total blocking time. A good value is achieved with a response time of less than 100 ms. A value that needs to be optimized is between 100 and 300 ms. From 300 ms there is an urgent need for action.

Usually, improvement can be achieved by improving JS and CSS.

Improve the CLS:

The CLS includes all postponements on the website. If the value is less than 0.1, you do not need to do anything. If the value is up to 0.25, you should make optimizations.

Preloading fonts and inserting placeholders can prevent the problems of shifts.

Which tools are suitable for analysis for Core Web Vitals?

Google offers the tools with which you can evaluate the Core Web Vitals free of charge.

To evaluate field data – i.e. historical data – you should access the Google Search Console. We recommend using PageSpeed ​​Insights for all current values.

Ideally, you should combine both tools for the best result.

Do you still have questions about Core Web Vitals? Do not hesitate to contact us!