Google has revealed that websites must meet all three Core Web Vitals (CWV) benchmarks to get a ranking boost when the new page experience signal goes live in May.
In a new YouTube video from Google Search Central, John Mueller provided further details about how the search engine will evaluate the three metrics related to page speed, interactivity and visual stability.
He noted that sites must at least hit the minimum threshold for each of the three metrics to be eligible for an improvement in rankings.
This means that pages are likely to need a Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) reading of 2.5 seconds, a First Input Delay (FID) figure of 100 milliseconds, and a Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) figure of less than 0.1.
Webmasters can currently check their Core Web Vitals within the Google Search Console, where they can see a report and advice on how to fix poor user experiences.
Mueller stressed that the final approach to the benchmarks could change and that Google will likely release more information before the rollout in the spring.
He added: “There are a number of factors that come together and I think the general idea is if we can recognize that a page matches all of these criteria then we would like to use that appropriately in search ranking.”
Mueller also claimed that visual indicators in the form of badges could be displayed in search results to show that pages have hit the right benchmarks for the vitals.
It is now less than three months until CWV becomes a signal, but a recent study found that a third of marketers have not yet fully grasped what they are and the impact they will have on SEO.
Google has urged brands to read up on the terms, test their current performance, and make adjustments where necessary to prepare for the rollout in May.
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