Google Core Web Vitals Become Ranking Factor

Google Core Web Vitals Become Ranking Factor

I’ve been dealing with SEO and all the major changes that Google occasionally introduces in its search engine for years now. On May 21st, 2021, Google will add a new ranking factor called “Core Web Vitals” in their algorithm. Core Web Vitals is a set of specific factors that Google considers important in a webpage’s overall user experience.

  • Loading: Refers to the time in which the first bit of content from a website is rendered – should be less than 2.5s.
  • Interactivity: The time it takes before the user can provide input. Should be under 100ms.
  • Visual Stability: The layout should be as visually stable as possible and keep a CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) of less than 0.1s.
  • Mobile Friendly: A mobile version of your website.
  • Safe Browsing: Basically not having any malware on your website.
  • HTTPS: Website with SSL certificate, the “Green Padlock” in the browser search bar.
  • No intrusive interstitials: Intrusive interstitials are essentially popup ads. They tend to block most or all of a page, leading to a bad user experience for desktop and mobile users alike.

You can find your siteā€™s Core Web Vitals data in the “Enhancements” section of your Google Search Console account or at a glance in the Overview section. As you can see in the screenshot below, this website (mariushosting.com) has 0 page errors with 100% valid Core Web Vitals.

Google Search Console Core web vitals

How did I achieve these results? Well, considering that this website is hosted on a Synology NAS, there are some fundamental rules to achieving such a result.

mariushosting lighthouse report

You have 6 months before this change can affect your website. I can help you troubleshoot your website. You have to consider that there is no single guide that works for everyone, because each of us has a different website with different options/servers/plugins/etc. If you want professional personalized advice, you can contact me. I can also install a clean WordPress website on your Synology NAS with a 100% score in Google Lighthouse, a rarity nowadays.

This post was updated on Saturday / November 14th, 2020 at 11:41 PM