One of the most fundamental aspects of Google’s Core Web Vitals is that it is truly optimized for how we interact with the internet. Which means that Core Web Vitals are truly optimized for the mobile experience.
Despite the fact that the tweaks and adjustments to Core Web Vitals will improve not only the digital user experience but also the search engine rankings – well at least on Google, which, let’s face it, we’re all on – Google only uses the mobile metrics for ranking pages. So at least for Google, mobile is king.
The power of the small rectangular screen is enormous and is continuing to grow. Today, 60% of all online traffic comes from mobile. While 72% of us use our mobiles when we’re shopping in a physical store. However, 53% of mobile users will leave a site if it’s taking longer than 3 seconds to load.
That’s why Google has switched to 100% mobile-first indexing.
Content that is visible only on desktop/laptop is now simply ignored from now on by the most dominant search engine on earth. With mobile being a priority of Google’s for quite some years now, Core Web Vitals are a clear signal for businesses to shape up when it comes to the experiences that it is offering its users.
Core Web Vitals are actually part of a broader landscape of metrics – or signals as Google refers to them. These include:
- Mobile-friendliness
- Safe-browsing
- HTTPS
- Intrusive interstitial guidelines
These are some of the other metrics that make up the Google algorithm for determining website rankings. Core Web VItals are more complex than the four additional metrics mentioned above. They consist of more complex parts and so make up the majority of attention paid by Google.
So much can impact how a website performs and loads on a mobile – image optimization, the site structure, hosting, etc.
The greater impact of the mobile experience for Google is also due to the influence that the local search experience has. That’s because 60% of searches on mobile have local intent. So there is simply no way for businesses to ignore mobile.
Think about it: when you’re walking around shopping in your local area looking for nearby shops, it’s imperative that these businesses have websites that load as fast as possible.
When it comes to optimizing your Core Web Vitals first think of how they’re affecting your mobile site experience. Consider tweaking aspects of the website such as using responsive images. This means using different image sizes for desktop/laptop as well as mobile. Instead, try uploading image sizes that are relevant to the two different screen sizes.
Despite the focus on mobile, that doesn’t mean the desktop website doesn’t need some love, too. Having an eye on both versions of the site is going to elevate the overall website speed and user experience.
PS: ArganoUV is one of the world’s leading Core Web Vitals consultancies. Contact us to see how we can work together.
