1、Conquering Core Web Vitals for eCommerce eBOOKIN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartners2IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE These metrics will become more important in June 2021,as Google will begin u

2、sing them as search ranking signals.This eBook is designed to not only introduce and explain Core Web Vitals as they apply to eCommerce,but also prescribe foundational best practices to be able to measure and track these metrics and position your brand to rank well.Core Web Vitals will begin being u

3、sed as search ranking signals.JUNE 2021CONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE In 2020,Google launched Core Web Vitals,a new set of website metrics that highlight aspects of web page development that impact online user experience.3IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartners

4、CONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE Googles Core Web Vitals aim to“reflect the real-world experience of a critical user-centric outcome.”But what are these metrics exactly?First Input Delay(FID),Cumulative Layout Shift(CLS),and Largest Contentful Paint(LCP).Having visibility and understanding o

5、f these metrics now will be important to better position your site for success come June.WHAT ARE CORE WEB VITALS?FID measures how much background tasks are causing a users first action(such as clicking a button or typing a character)to be delayed.So,FID is not actually measuring the delay of the us

6、ers first action,but the delay caused before that event.In other words,a users interactivity is delayed because the browser is busy Dom building or executing other background tasks at the time of the interaction.CLS measures the amount of reflow on your site,with the aim to reduce any unintended use

7、r clicks.A reflow is a quick shift of the content displayed or layout of a page.For example,if youre on a site where the header banner has not loaded yet,and you are about to click a link,then the header image loads and pushes all the other content down.If you clicked during the reflow,chances are y

8、ou ended up clicking on a different link than the one intended.SECTION 1FIRST INPUT DELAY FID CLS CUMULATIVE LAYOUT SHIFT LCPLARGEST CONTENTFUL PAINTUnderstanding Core Web VitalsLCP measures when a good portion of the screen is visible to the user.Typically,for eCommerce sites this is when the hero

9、image is displayed or when the carousel image shows up.CONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE 4IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE UNDERSTANDING THE BIGGER PICTURE Its important to note that Core Web Vitals are only captured

10、on the browsers that support them.So while they will be impacting Google search rankings,these metrics are not captured by all browsers.While these new metrics are key for UX and for Google search,do not to lose sight of other performance metrics that also impact user experience,and ultimately more

11、business driven metrics like conversion rate.You should still be tracking other key site performance metrics that improve UX,such as Time To First Byte(TTFB),Document Object Model(DOM)Interactive,Document Complete,First Meaningful Paint,and Time to Interactive(TTI).Taking a holistic approach to impr

12、ove your sites UX overall will make shoppers happy and increase conversions.WHY ARE CORE WEB VITALS SO IMPORTANT?The main purpose of these Web Vital metrics is so Google can measure how well your site is performing to provide the best user experience possible.Google wants to reward sites that offer

13、a good user experience.Lets take another look at these metrics and how they impact user experience:FID is a user experience metric,and if a page is slow to respond to user input,it is considered a poor user experience.Google will score a FID of 100 ms or less as good,100-300 ms as needs improvement

14、and anything over 300 ms as poor.Since it is a Web Vital,FID will also impact Googles search ranking.CLS is another user experience metric related to page stability that can be frustrating to site visitors if elements are moving on a page.It is not a page load time metric captured in seconds or mill

15、iseconds as it measures the number of frames and the total distance in pixels for moving resources.Google will score a CLS of 0.1 or less as good,0.1-0.25 as needs improvement and anything over 0.25 as poor.Beyond user experience,CLS will also impact Googles search ranking as of June 2021.LCP is a s

16、ite performance metric that measures how long it takes for the largest item in the viewport to load.Google will score a LCP of 2.5 seconds or less as good,2.5-4.0 seconds as needs improvement and anything over 4 seconds as poor.Again this metric is very important given it will impact Googles search

17、ranking.FIRST INPUT DELAY FID CLS CUMULATIVE LAYOUT SHIFT LCPLARGEST CONTENTFUL PAINT5IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE Good Core Web Vitals metrics will result in better online shopping experiences.Better user experience equ

18、als higher conversion.As a result,maintaining good Core Web Vitals metrics will help boost online revenue.IMPORTANCE OF SITE PERFORMANCE It may not seem like a lot of time,but 66%of shoppers will leave an eCommerce site if it doesnt load within 3 seconds.Nobody wants to wait for a slow site,especial

19、ly shoppers,and especially after heavily relying on digital shopping over the past year.So it should come as no surprise that the faster your site loads,the higher your conversion rate will be.Its also no surprise that Google is putting even more emphasis on user experience metrics come June.3RD PAR

20、TY TECHNOLOGY IMPACT For eCommerce brands,3rd party technologies typically make up 75%of page load time.To adequately prepare for Core Web Vitals,brands must be able to measure the impact of 3rd parties on all site performance metrics.Even better,they should deploy an automated solution to sequence

21、all 3rd parties based on personalized rules and all site performance metrics,including Core Web Vitals.CONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE 66%of shoppers will leave an eCommerce site if it doesnt load within 3 seconds.SECTION 2Site Performance Impact of Core Web Vitals 6IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTN

22、ER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE SECTION 3SEO Impact of Core Web Vitals CONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE All Google updates are made with the intent of improving user experience.This one is no different.Highlighting websites that allow onli

23、ne users to get the information theyre searching for with the least possible friction is Google Searchs primary objective.Well likely have to wait and see how much weight Google plans to give these ranking signals,but the search engine giant has been working towards this for a long time.With the lau

24、nch of Core Web Vitals,Google is making its most definitive statement yet that it will indeed prioritize pages that provide a better user experience in search results.WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO RANK NOW?Search results have come a long way from the days of rewarding keyword-stuffed webpages and shady backl

25、ink profiles.Their current set of ranking signals already accounts for a number of indicators that affect user experience,like prioritizing secure websites,factoring in page speed,and rewarding mobile-friendliness.First,we have to understand why its important to rank at the top of the first page in

26、Googles SERPs to see how important this truly is:Click-through-rates are way better at higher rankings.In fact,CTR is about 2x better when comparing a ranking of 1 to 2.7IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE To put that into pers

27、pective,with 40-60 billion searches a month in the US,Google maintains a firm grasp on 90.1%of the search engine market where 93%of all online experiences start.The most successful tactic for ranking in the top search results is content market-ing,and will continue to be content marketing.Google has

28、 and will continue to prioritize the best content on the internet to satisfy the search query.To oversimplify it,if your content is better than your search competitors,you stand the best chance of ranking in the top results.Content still reigns.EVERYTHINGS CHANGING,BUT NOT THAT MUCHGoogles Core Web

29、Vitals are a new set of ranking factors that are categorized as page experience search signals.According to Google,the Core Web Vitals update shouldnt be ignored,but will not usurp relevance as a key ranking signal.However,Google cant entirely predict the impact of the update until it has gone live.

30、In their own words:Google maintains a firm grasp on 90.1%of the search engine market.“Q:How does Google determine which pages are affected by the assessment of Page Experience and usage as a ranking signal?A:Page experience is just one of many signals that are used to rank pages.Keep in mind that in

31、tent of the search query is still a very strong signal,so a page with a subpar page experience may still rank highly if it has great,relevant content.Q:What can site owners expect to happen to their traffic if they dont hit Core Web Vitals performance metrics?A:Its difficult to make any kind of gene

32、ral prediction.We may have more to share in the future when we formally announce the changes are coming into effect.Keep in mind that the content itself and its match to the kind of information a user is seeking remains a very strong signal as well.”Mobile FriendlySafe BrowsingHTTPSNo Intrusive Inte

33、rstitialsLoading Largest Contentful Paint(LCP)Interactivity First Input Delay(FID)Core Web VitalsSearch signals for page experienceVisual Stability Cumulative Layout Shift(CLS)8IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE SECTION 4Best

34、Practices for Preparing Your Site CONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE With the Google Core Web Vitals start date rapidly approaching,it is critical that brands begin preparing their sites to improve SEO and user experience metrics.Below are some best practices to prepare for Core Web Vitals:HOW

35、 TO OPTIMIZE MY WEBSITE FOR“PAGE EXPERIENCE”?Now that you know what Core Web Vitals are and how they could impact your business,its time to learn how to do something about it.Google has already been factoring in a number of the page experience criteria into rankings,like the https security protocol

36、and mobile-friendliness.These arent new and the odds are,your site has already been optimized for these functions.Heres what you need to do to make sure your site doesnt get left behind:AUDITCORE WEB VITALS Now in your favorite developer toolsLCP=Largest Contentful Paint,FID=First Input Delay,CLS=Cu

37、mulative Layout Shift,TBT=Total Blocking TimeSource:Google Webmasters via TwitterLCPFIDCLSPageSpeed InsightsChrome UX ReportSearch ConsoleChrome DevToolsTBTLighthouseTBTWeb Vitals Extension9IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE G

38、oogle has updated its developer tools to include Core Web Vitals metrics,so site owners will be able to measure and diagnose issues based on these performance criteria.Google Search Console now has the capability to report on these metrics,so site owners can identify the pages that need improvement.

39、This doesnt require a high level of mastery and is a great way to quickly see which pages need attention.The report breaks down Core Web Vital performance for each URL on your site and classifies them according to the good,needs improvement,and poor standards pictured earlier in this article Instead

40、 of using Googles tools,you can now monitor,diagnose,and troubleshoot your Core Web Vitals from one dashboard with YOTTAA.Heres what the dashboard looks like:Pro TipGoogle provides 6(!)different tools with varying capabilities to audit and monitor Core Web Vitals.Try leveraging only one tool that mo

41、nitors Core Web Vitals,like the Core Web Vitals Dashboard from YOTTAA,for all site visitors across key dimensions like device types and page categories,sends proactive alerts when changes occur,and provides a comprehensive picture of site performance from infrastructure metrics like DNS lookup time,

42、page load time metrics,and Core Web Vitals.Learn more.Source:Google Webmasters via Twitter Run your site through Googles mobile-friendly test.Use the Security Issues Report in Search Console to see if your site is host to any malicious content like malware or phishing scams.10IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPART

43、NER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE TROUBLESHOOTFix CLS IssuesTo troubleshoot the only truly new metric,Cumulative Layout Shift(CLS),you can refer to Googles technical guide.Common causes of annoying page shifts are images and other collateral insert

44、ed into a page without dimensions.Fix LCP IssuesTo troubleshoot Largest Contentful Paint(LCP)issues,you can refer to Googles technical guide.Is your main content taking too long to load?Try compressing large images,caching static portions of your site,and prioritize loading for your main content.Fix

45、 FID IssuesTo troubleshoot First Input Delay(FID)issues,you can refer to Googles technical guide.The most common cause of delays between user interaction and page response is heavy javascript execution.Basically,the main code is still processing and the site cant break from that to process the users

46、 request.Fix all Core Web Vitals Issues with One ToolAn even easier way would be to work with the specialized eCommerce Core Web Vitals experts at YOTTAA to help your brand holistically audit,monitor,and troubleshoot for Core Web Vitals from one,easy-to-use dashboard.YOTTAAs Core Web Vitals diagnost

47、ics capabilities enable users to identify areas that need improvement across their site,as well as drill into specific pages and resources to pinpoint issues.Learn more.MAKE YOUR SITE MOBILE-FRIENDLYA common issue for sites adapting to mobile devices is the responsiveness of site structures and imag

48、es.Refer to this 10-step guide on how to optimize your site for mobile.Check your URL for the“HTTPS:/”prefix.If it says“HTTP:/”you will need to update your sites security protocol.Make sure your site doesnt have any annoying interstitials,like these:An example of an intrusive popupAnother example of

49、 an intrusive standalone interstitialAn example of an intrusive standalone interstitial11IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersCONQUERING CORE WEB VITALS FOR ECOMMERCE FIX SECURITY ISSUESSecurity issues can manifest in a variety of ways,so after running the Security Iss

50、ues Report in Google Search Console,you should follow any of the necessary eight steps on this page under“Fix the problem”.MIGRATE YOUR SITE TO HTTPSIf your site is still running the HTTP protocol,it will require a more technical solution.Please consult an expert to make sure this is done properly.Y

51、ou can also refer to this guide.REMOVE ANNOYING INTERSTITIALSThis is a much simpler fix.If your pop-ups are covering most or all of a pages content,make them smaller.If they arent responsive and block content,remove them.Dont include interstitials above the fold that impede access to content.Conside

52、r referring to these additional resources from Google.MONITOR CORE WEB VITALS Brands must be able to monitor Core Web Vitals along with other important site performance metrics using RUM data(real user data that is not sampled).This is helpful to identify areas of improvement based on Googles scale

53、for site performance.EXPERIMENTATION Find the right mix of performance optimizations for your site by experimenting with new metrics and A/B test various configurations then measure the effectiveness of those tests.OPTIMIZE Optimize pages for different load time metrics(Onload,TTI,LCP,etc.)by any us

54、er context(device,browser,page,network speed).Remember that Core Web Vitals are only measured on the Chrome browser.Having a flexible system can ensure youre maximizing Core Web Vitals and optimizing for other metrics in other contexts,such as other browsers.Remember that Core Web Vitals are only me

55、asured on the browsers that support them.Make sure youre maximizing Core Web Vitals and optimizing for other metrics in other contexts,such as other browsers.Dont Just Overcome Core Web Vitals Conquer ThemIf the idea of adding 3 new metrics to your site performance benchmarks is overwhelming,youre n

56、ot alone.But just remember,at the base of Googles push to hold sites accountable for Core Web Vitals is the need to provide shoppers with the best experience possible.This factor is not new to brands.Its common knowledge that if your eCommerce site isnt loading fast,or isnt functioning smoothly,or s

57、ite content jumps around,shoppers are going to leave and fast!In the end,focusing on these metrics,along with other site performance and SEO metrics,will only benefit your brand more by improving shopper experience,which has been proven to lift conversion.The other factor that can be overwhelming fo

58、r brands is that measuring,monitoring,troubleshooting,and strengthening Core Web Vitals is not straightforward and requires internal resources.If youre not interested in a“do it yourself”approach,there are technologies that can make conquering Core Web Vitals easy.In addition,Hawke Media,a leading e

59、Commerce SEO and Marketing agency,can help your brand understand and optimize your SEO and content specifically for Googles Core Web Vitals.YOTTAA,the leader in eCommerce site performance,provides retailers with a Core Web Vitals Dashboard that monitors all site visitors across key dimensions such a

60、s device type and page categories,sends proactive alerts when changes occur,provides at-a-glance Core Web Vitals diagnostics,and showcases a comprehensive picture of site performance from infrastructure metrics like DNS lookup time,page load time metrics,and Core Web Vitals.Together,we provide a com

61、prehensive solution for everything Core Web Vitals through a focused lens of eCommerce.HAWKE MEDIA IS PROVIDING A FREE TECHNICAL SEO AUDIT Hawke was founded on the idea that every modern business needs a CMO-level expert to lead its digital marketing efforts.Thats why we create customized,performanc

62、e-driven solutions around your unique business,helping you to launch,scale,and invigorate your brand.Bringing you the resources of a full-service agency with the attention of an in-house team,were shifting the marketing paradigm by putting client success ahead of our own.We tailor our business aroun

63、d helping yours,providing you with comprehensive,la carte services and month-to-month contracts to suit your every need.YOTTAA IS PROVIDING A FREE CORE WEB VITALS SITE PERFORMANCE SNAPSHOT Start by getting your FREE custom Core Web Vitals Performance Snapshot.This report will break down your current

64、 Core Web Vitals standing,and how your site is performing.With the Google Core Web Vitals start date rapidly approaching,it is critical that brands begin preparing their sites to improve site performance metrics.As the leader in site performance optimization,YOTTAA can help you get your site ready.IN PARTNERSHIP WITHPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOPARTNER LOGOHawkePartnersLEARN MOREGET STARTED