Google, a couple of weeks ago, announced Core Web Vitals, an updated set of important metrics to measure the user experience and speed of different websites. The tech giant also announced that these updates will make its way into a core algorithm update as the new ways of measuring and ranking websites depends on the experience they offer. These are expected to be available sometime in 2021.
Let’s take a dive into this topic to see how important these are.
UX MATTERS A LOT NOW, MORE THAN EVER
Google says that page loading speed, content structure and interactivity form the basis of the Core Web Vitals 2020.
This is not something new to us as webmasters know the importance of page loading speeds for ranking well on the search engine results page and the interactivity part of it can be considered to be a part of the RankBrain algorithm that helps measure on-page behaviour.
Google Search Console has a new update which allows webmasters to see how the website performs according to web vitals. This Google report is available for both mobile and desktop page performance.
This is what Google had to say with respect to page ranking in particular:
“While all of the components of page experience are important, we will prioritize pages with the best information overall, even if some aspects of page experience are subpar. A good page experience doesn’t override having great, relevant content.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF E-A-T
Google employs raters to ascertain the relevancy or accuracy of a particular SERP (search engine results page).
This person’s sole job is to understand and verify if the content that is ranking in the top ten of Google’s SERP, actually complies with the E-A-T standards. This stands for EXPERTISE, AUTHORITATIVENESS and TRUSTWORTHINESS.
In March this year, Google stressed that E-A-T is a major ranking factor for a website.
“Assessing your own content in terms of E-A-T criteria may help align it conceptually with the different signals that our automated systems use to rank content.” — Google Webmaster Central Blog
SERP AND MULTIPLE SEARCH INTENT
Google has always stressed on quality than quantity. Online marketers need to put out content that is easy to read, consistent with the brand, delivers the right message and is well structured. But in order to outrun competition and get to the top of the search results page, they produce lengthy, irrelevant and illicit tactics to bring the page up.
The recent update is all about how the algorithm perceives quality content to make the SERP results more relevant to the user’s intent.
NOFOLLOW LINKS TO BE VIEWED AS ‘HINTS’ FROM NOW ON
Previously, Google Bots used to ignore nofollow links i.e. if a backlink from a website had a nofollow sign, it was usually ignored by Google. Going forward, nofollow links and referral pages will be used to ascertain the context of a webpage, meaning it will be very important for advertisers to not ignore this.
“Links contain valuable information that can help us improve search, such as how the words within links describe content they point at. Looking at all the links we encounter can also help us better understand unnatural linking patterns. By shifting to a hint model, we no longer lose this important information, while still allowing site owners to indicate that some links shouldn’t be given the weight of a first-party endorsement.”
DO YOU HAVE TO UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE NOW?
Google is bringing a lot of updates to its algorithm but it is not implementing them until 2021 and it has explicitly mentioned that the changes will not affect the ranking until next year. Google’s official webmaster blog quotes the following:
“We recognize many site owners are rightfully placing their focus on responding to the effects of COVID-19. The ranking changes described in this post will not happen before next year, and we will provide at least six months notice before they’re rolled out.”
With this being said, keeping the Core Web Vitals update in mind, it is crucial that website owners start making the necessary changes to the website slowly but surely so that it is not piled up in the end and affect their ranking.
Are you a website owner/a business with a website and are looking for the best practices to bring it to the top? Do you need help with the same? We suggest you talk to our marketing experts today. They will perform a detailed check of your website and give you a comprehensive list of changes, if any, to improve its performance and help it rank well. Apart from this, we also excel in 360° digital marketing services like social media marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing, website development and design, e-commerce marketing, branding, etc.. Call us anytime at IN: +91 9087706000 | SG: +65 8008526877 and our marketing executive will get back to you with all the necessary details.
Happy ranking and happy marketing!
