How Google’s Core Web Vitals affect SEO rankings

We know that the world changes and that we change with it. We know, too, that large digital platforms require constant adaptation and that, in this case, Google is the main critic for all those projects that neglect a good SEO strategy. Nowadays, it’s important to work with the Core Web Vitals, which have been operational worldwide since May 2021 and which mark the level of love or hate that the search engine will show towards your platform.

What are Core Web Vitals?

We have engraved this name on our hearts: Core Web Vitals. This is the name of Google’s algorithm change, with which the company intends to favor those platforms with a better user experience. Each of these Core Web Vitals is oriented to evaluate an essential aspect of the speed of pages and consumer experience.

Firstly, LCP or Largets Contenful Paint, measures the loading time of the content and for it to be effective, it must be under 2.5 seconds.

Secondly, we have the FID or First Input Delay, which should be below 0.1 seconds and refers to the ability to interact quickly, or the responsiveness of the page. In other words, the time that elapses from the moment the user performs an action until the browser responds to that interaction.

Thirdly, there is the CLS or Cumulative Layout Shift, which measures visual stability and must be maintained below 0.1 seconds. This last point does not measure time, but rather the frequency and magnitude with which internal changes of content are loaded on a page.

What does this mean in practice?

It means that if you have a heavy, slow platform that forces the user to wait longer than necessary to view and interact with the content, Google will penalize your SEO.

To avoid the latter, the common recommendations are:

  • Scale images to the correct size so they are not too heavy.
  • Compress larger images, for the same reason.
  • Have static content load on a delayed basis.
  • Have the content delivered in delayed form from the main hosting platform.
  • Delete and bypass any unnecessary resources that block rendering.
  • Include images that serve next-generation formats.
  • Remove any JavaScript that you don’t use.

These adjustments are necessary and, even though you can always go more in depth, it should improve the organic positioning of the platforms. However, let’s not forget that the relevance of the content still rules how Google evaluates the sites and how it indexes them for users.