Focusing on our page experience has been key to boosting our on-page metrics, especially by increasing the time users spend on our site. By making browsing smooth and user-friendly, we've not only improved our search rankings but also made sure our website meets the needs and expectations of our audience.
When it comes to CWV it is all about User Experience, whether that's from the perspective of Speed or whether it's related to the layout of your website. When I talk to site owners about how to approach CWV, I tell them to think of Google's Core Web Vitals as a very hesitant customer who is on the fence about making a decision about a purchase: If the experience you give to them is rough or complicated - they're not going to follow through. You have to make things FAST, and you have to make it EASY, or they're going to bounce. Google is the same way. Complicated and clunky experiences are not going to cut it in 2024.
I would say we focus minimally on CWV - they are useful and not to be ignored but they are far from central to any SEO strategy. UX on the other hand should be a significant part of your strategy. I have said for some years that modern SEO is the confluence of traditional SEO, CRO & UX. Today it is even more of a multi-disciplinary activity - looking at everywhere there is opportunity not just an us vs them type of activity. One of the main things that has become more of a central focus are session tracking software such as Crazy Egg, Hotjar, and Microsoft Clarity. Understanding the path the users take, what they might be looking for and how to help them will significantly elevate your game beyond just a how do I rank for X type of strategy.
I think Google's focus on user experience and Core Web Vitals has significantly impacted our SEO strategies by making site performance and user satisfaction top priorities. We've shifted our focus to optimizing page load times, ensuring mobile-friendliness, and enhancing overall site usability. For instance, we’ve invested in faster hosting solutions, compressed images, and streamlined our website code to improve load speeds. We also prioritized mobile-first design, given that a large portion of traffic comes from mobile devices. By improving metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), we not only align with Google's ranking factors but also enhance the user experience. This focus on Core Web Vitals has led to better search rankings, reduced bounce rates, and increased user engagement, making our SEO efforts more effective in driving organic traffic and conversions.
At our agency we have prioritized improving loading speeds, enhancing mobile responsiveness as well as optimizing visual stability to meet Google's Core Web Vitals criteria. Additionally, we have focused on providing high-quality, valuable content that is easily accessible and engaging for users, as this is also an important factor in Google's ranking algorithms.
Earlier, we primarily focused on increasing the page speed metrics (score) in the PageSpeed Insights tool. However, we've now adopted a more holistic approach that encompasses network data, CrUX, and RUM data for our pages, optimizing individual site elements accordingly. Regular audits and ongoing optimization have become essential parts of our strategy. A couple of the main factors we've been focusing on are: First Fold Visual Stability We've placed a high priority on ensuring the visual stability of the first fold, aiming for minimal ads and no unexpected layout shifts. This involves setting explicit dimensions for images, videos, and other elements to prevent shifts as content loads. Reducing the number of ads in this prime area has been particularly challenging due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders, but it’s a necessary step for achieving a smooth user experience. Optimizing Interactive Elements Interactive elements like charts and tables, which change based on user input, are often the hardest to identify and optimize. They are a primary cause of INP issues. We've prioritized the loading speed of these interactive elements, ensuring they load and respond to user input within 100ms to avoid Interaction to Next Paint (INP) issues. Optimizing our site for Core Web Vitals has become more complex and costly. We've had to invest in additional tools, such as RUM monitoring tools, and conduct extensive testing after making improvements.
Core Web Vitals is a way to measure website performance. Also, Core Web Vitals increase the importance of overall user experience as a ranking factor. Focus not only on content relevance and keywords but also on providing a better user experience. That's why these metrics focus on user experience. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures loading speed Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures visual consistency Interactions to Next Paint (INP) measures the responsiveness of the page using core web vitals for SEO strategies in 2024 can improve rankings, conversion rates, and user interactions on a website.