Google Adds new Core Web Vitals Feature to Search Console

Google first introduced the Core Web Vitals earlier in the month. At the time, it described the report as a way to “fix poor user experiences on your site.”

Now, the search engine company is adding the report to Search Console.

Main Takeaways:

You can now access the new report on the Google Search Console.
Core Web Vitals is essential for providing a good user experience for your site.
The 2020 Core Web Vitals consist of three metrics — LCP, FID, and CLS.

According to Google, the set of metrics that the Core Web Vitals offer is critical to all experiences on the web. That’s why the tech company has rolled out a more natural way for site owners to measure them — via Search Console.

As essential as page speed is, Google believes that having a site that loads fast is not enough to keep users happy. That’s why the new report is replacing the old Speed report on the Search Console.

Aside from meeting specific expectations for loading, good user experience on a site include interactivity and visual stability, says Google.

With that said, here’s a detailed look at the metrics.

The Three Metrics that Represent the 2020 Core Web Vitals

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

LCP measures perceived load speed. It also marks the point in a page load timeline when the primary content likely loaded. The ideal speed here is 2.5 seconds or faster.

2. First Input Delay (FID)

Unlike LCP, FID measures responsiveness and quantifies a users’ experience when interacting with a page for the first time. The ideal measurement here is less than 100 seconds.

3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Along with measuring visual stability, CLS also quantifies the amount of unexpected layout shift of visible page content. The ideal measurement here is less than 0.1.

Why Google Selected these Metrics as Core Web Vitals

Google selected these metrics because they capture essential user-centric outcomes. Also, they are measurable and have supporting lab diagnostic metric equivalents.

To improve your site’s metrics s on Search Console, Google recommends fixing everything labeled “Poor” first. After that, you can prioritize your next step based on issues affecting the most URLs.