What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are three metrices that Google used to monitor the website’s speed, smoothness, and interactivity for users. These metrices helped google to understand the website’s performance quality, but as compared to content quality, they used to be less important.
John Mueller, Google Search Advocate, has emphasized that Core Web Vitals matter, but they are not significant ranking factor. He further explains that although these metrices are ranking factors, they don’t cause impact on search engine rankings while compared to high value content. His message is content quality is what matters most for search engines rankings.
Furthermore, Mueller says that
“Improving website performance creates a better user-experience, which is essential for retaining visitors. If people have poor experience on your website, they might not revisit your website despite the fact they found your website with organic search.
Benefits for Small Websites
Mueller pointed out that smaller websites have a competitive edge in making quick adjustments to improve the user-experience, while larger website may take longer to make even minor changes.
For example, updating robots.txt is quite easier and takes minutes, larger websites may take days to implement the adjustments.
Recent Research Study
Andrew Mcleod recently conducted a research study to analyze how website performance impact the search engine rankings for website. He observed some interesting patterns, enabling ads may cause loss of organic traffic by 20% within 24 hours, recovery may take weeks after the removal of ads.
Additionally, Mueller acknowledged that these research findings are valid and interesting, Core Web Vitals are just one piece of the puzzle. User experience matters but has no significance compared to content quality.
Conclusion
Google values performance and content, but for the best search rankings, it is primitive to focus on the content quality than putting effort to pass the Core Web Vitals.
| Key Takeaways | Details |
| Focus on Content | Content quality is the most critical factor for improving rankings. |
| Core Web Vitals’ Role | Important for user experience but not a primary factor for search rankings. |
| Small Site Advantage | Smaller sites can make changes quickly, providing a potential competitive advantage. |
| User Experience | Good performance enhances user experience, which can help retain visitors. |
| Recent Observations | Performance issues, like adding ads, can temporarily affect rankings and traffic, highlighting the balance between content and user experience. |
