SEO2 min read
Google's Core Web Vitals Update in 2021
Published by Samsiani
Core Web Vitals in 2021
In early May of the previous year, Google published a post on one of its developer blogs introducing Core Web Vitals: a set of metrics expected to influence how pages were assessed in search. At the time, the introduction of Core Web Vitals as a page assessment and ranking consideration was anticipated for May 2021.
These new considerations prompted hundreds, if not thousands, of articles, opinions and debates. Some businesses feared that the metrics would undermine their existing SEO. Meanwhile, web development companies were encouraged to optimise their websites. Developers also faced uncertainty: the experience, practices and methods they had built over years might need to change. Google had announced a change in approach and given the industry a year to prepare.
And here it was:
2021 was set to reshape website development and SEO
Businesses with strong rankings understandably asked what would happen next. Would they have to start over? Did the new metrics mean discarding existing work and moving to a completely different system?
The answer was no. Quality websites with sound SEO, technical foundations and content would still have advantages. The new recommendations and tools were intended to complement that work and improve websites that were already well optimised.
Websites that had not previously performed well also had an opportunity to improve by following the recommendations and standards reflected in Web Vitals. The shared objective was to help people find relevant information through search more easily.
The changes were not only about improving the visitor's experience. Encouraging better-built websites could also benefit the businesses behind them.
For example, people may avoid a slow website or leave it quickly. That means losing potential customers who came looking for information.
Online shops with slow performance or difficult navigation lose customers when people run out of time or patience before completing a purchase.
Those customers still need the information or product. They look for an alternative: a well-built, optimised website where finding information, arranging a service or making a purchase is straightforward.
The new standard aimed to encourage that experience. Websites that make visitors struggle risk losing visibility.
By contrast, quality websites with content, code and SEO that are well optimised are better placed to earn visibility in search results.
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