Google never sleeps… Literally! Its robots are constantly browsing millions of web pages, and its algorithms work all the time ranking those pages, in order to give you the best answer possible to any question that might come to your mind. On top of this nonstop mode, Google is constantly updating its algorithms, which are becoming smarter and smarter, and better and better in understanding, not only written content on our websites, but also our ideas and feelings behind the questions we type into google.com.
Whilst most of the updates and improvements to Google’s algorithms are happening without you even noticing or ever knowing about them, some of the changes are making the news. But usually, this news comes from large and trustworthy SEO entities rather than from Google. They manage to notice the difference in search rankings, analyse millions and millions of search results in a system, and come up with the conclusion that indeed there has been an algorithm update.
It is rather rare that Google itself confirms an update noticed by SEO professionals and even rarer that it announces an update coming beforehand.
In other words, when it comes to SEO, if there is any information on what is going to happen before it happens, that information deserves your full attention. And now, in the very beginning of 2021, we are exactly in that situation: there are two updates that we can prepare for, so let’s make sure we use this rare opportunity.
1. Mobile-first indexing will be implemented for all the websites.
Technically this is not new, as Google announced mobile-first indexing back in 2016. It means that in order to figure out how to rank a website, Google started to evaluate the mobile version instead of the desktop one. So, if you love your website when opening it from your laptop, but your mobile version is ‘not that great, one day I need to fix it’, that day has come. Since 2016 Google started the process of transferring websites to the mobile-first index – yes, website by website. You may have received a notification in your Google Search Console when that happened specifically with your website.
In 2021, Google is planning to conclude this transition by March, when 100% of websites are going to be evaluated by their mobile versions. So, if your mobile version is still ‘not so comfortable to use as the desktop one’ or even worse, if you still do not have a version of the website, adapted for mobile screens, you have exactly two months to solve it. Postponing this issue may result in your partial or total disappearance from Google search.
2. Core Web Vitals update.
Core Web Vitals will officially become one of the ranking factors in Google’s algorithm in May 2021. Google has announced this change back in May 2020. And as last year’s spring was quite chaotic, it’s quite possible you've let this news pass you by. But now it’s a perfect moment to catch up, because you still have time to adapt, should you need to.
First, let us briefly explain what those vitals are – this part is a teeny-tiny technical, but bear with us.
The Core Web Vitals include three metrics – Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). These metrics are used to assess user experience on the page. LCP measures loading time – the main content should be loaded in 2.5 seconds or faster. FID evaluates a website’s interactivity – the ideal time for a page to become interactive is less than 100 ms. And, finally, CLS measures visual stability or, in other words, unexpected layout shifts.
Starting in May this year Google will start using these metrics in its ranking process, so having them ‘on a good level’ will definitely help your website, if not rank better, at least not fall behind your competition.
By now you’re probably saying ‘this is all very well, but it is very technical and confusing; I have no idea what to do with this information’. Well, it is technical and you will not be able to fix this without your website developer. But your role as website owner is exactly that: understand this is important enough to pay attention to, especially this year, understand if your website has a problem with one or all of the metrics, and ask your developer to fix the issue.
In order to get Google’s feedback on the Core Web Vitals metrics you have several options. The first one is to log into your Google Search Console and on the right-hand side menu click ‘Core Web Vitals’ to see if Google has analysed your pages, and if he has found any issues. Alternatively, you can search for Google Pagespeed Insights and paste there the page you want Google to give you feedback on. You will not only receive an immediate free evaluation, but also a list of recommendations from Google on what exactly you may need to improve. Just deliver this to your developer and let him do his magic.
Optimising your website for Core Vitals may implicate some investment from your side (paying the work hours of your developer), but you have at least five months to prepare, so enough time to move some budgets around.
These coming 2021 updates may seem intimidating, but if that’s how you feel it may probably be a sign that you may have a very outdated website. So, no more postponing, invest on your company’s ‘online face’ – your website – and once it's done, it will definitely and positively influence your business, not only from an SEO standpoint by making Google happy, but also making your potential customers happy and more likely to contact you. It's a win for everyone!
For more information, bespoke strategies and efficient digital marketing solutions, just contact the Clarity’s girls through info@yourdigitalclarity.com or visit our website at yourdigitalclarity.com.
