How to Maximize Search Engine Performance in 2023
In the highly competitive practice of law, it’s essential that you have a well-conceived and properly executed digital marketing strategy. A key component of that involves taking the right steps to maximize your ranking with Google. Sometimes that can feel like shooting in the dark, as Google constantly changes and refines its algorithms. Fortunately, in 2021, Google made public its Core Web Vitals, which provide insight and direction to help maximize performance with the search engine giant.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
The Core Web Vitals are tools that help Google evaluate the actual experience of website visitors and users. Instead of focusing on the content on a page, though, the Core Web Vitals focus on usability, looking at factors such as page loading experience, visual stability, and interactivity of a page. Specifically, Google gathers information about:
- The speed at which the largest piece of content on a page loads, known as the “largest contentful paint,” or LCP
- How easily and effectively a page visitor can interact with the page—referred to as “first input delay,” or FID
- How long it takes for a page to become stable—the “cumulative layout shift (CLS)”
As a general rule, the better a page performs on these metrics, the higher it will rank.
What Strategies Can Be Used to Rank Higher Under the Core Web Vitals Criteria?
Here’s what you need to do to optimize your performance under the Core Web Vitals:
- Page loading (LCP)—Currently, to meet Google’s best practices, the largest piece of content must load within 2.5 seconds of a user clicking a link to the page. You can use the Google PageSpeed tool to look for factors that may slow down the content loading. Typical culprits include unnecessary third-party scripts, CSS (cascading style sheets), or inadequate web hosting.
- Site interactivity (FID)—This factor looks at clicks, key presses, and taps on a page, considered by Google to be an effective indication of a page visitor’s initial reaction to your site. FID measures how quickly someone clicks on something—Google’s best practices require 100 milliseconds or less. Some of the strategies available to improve your FID include removing third-party scripts, using a browser cache, and avoiding javascript, if possible.
- Page stability (CLS)—Google gives greater ranking weight to pages that don’t change in layout as the page loads. To minimize the risk of instability, you need to be sure that videos, images, and other media are properly sized and that page elements always go to the same location.
Let GetLegal Help You Maximize Performance for Google’s Core Web Vitals
At GetLegal, we offer attorneys and law firms nationwide more than 20 years of proven experience in digital marketing. We provide a comprehensive array of online tools to help you bring in clients, from full website development with custom content and design, to video production, search engine optimization, social media campaigns, directory listings, and online reputation management. To learn how we can help you find more potential clients for your practice, go to https://glpbpro.wpengine.com/ or call us at 1-877-359-7077.
