Google rolled out part of the Core Web Vitals algorithm update in June of 2021, which it previously said will be implemented in May and expected by most SEOs and website owners.
Announcing that the remaining changes will be made in July 2021, let’s take a brief look at what changes Google has created on websites with the new algorithm so far.
Which Sites Are Most Affected by the New Update?
As a result of our observation and detailed examination, we have seen that the new update does not affect every website at the same rate. We observed that while it had a much more positive effect on websites in some areas, it did not make any changes or had a negative effect on others.
Some sectors seem to be primarily affected by the update. Among these sectors, the ones that were most positively affected, according to our findings, were the websites of “Insurance, Law and Car Rental-Vehicle Insurance” companies.
Another common point of domains that have achieved an increase in ranking in these sectors is that almost all of them are foreign websites with English content.
Another area that has been the most curious about the update since the beginning was e-commerce sites.
When we examined the effect on e-commerce sites in detail, we observed that the new update did not affect e-commerce websites as much as the websites in the areas mentioned above, and did not create a high or expected difference in search result pages.
So what kind of impact did Core Web Vitals have in Turkey?
For websites with hosting in Turkey and with Turkish content, the update yielded different and below-expected results compared to websites abroad.
In the examinations we made through Google Search Console and various tools, it was noticed that the click-through and ranking rates of almost all websites decreased significantly on “June 5, 2021” and started to rise again the next day. However, we don’t know if this is just due to the update, but the same day drop in all websites led to the conclusion that it could be related to the update.
What Criteria Did Core Web Vitals Based on Ranking Changes?
Google has not yet made a detailed and satisfactory explanation on this subject. However, although there is no definite answer, we can say that the concepts of “Page Experience Criteria” and “Mobile Usability” on Google Search Console have come to the fore with the latest update.
In addition to all these, “Important Web Data”, especially on Google Search Console, seems to be the concept that we think most affected the update and that we should pay the most attention until Google explains the criteria on which it is based.
In addition, another conclusion we reached in our detailed analyzes was that the pages that came to the fore in different words no longer rank in those words in general.
E.g; If a website opened on SEO used to receive traffic through the keyword “doctor”, it no longer ranks or starts to rank much lower with the new update.
To Summarize All Changes;
The new algorithm update did not affect every sector at the same rate. At the same time, the effect on websites abroad was much greater.
It is still not known exactly which concepts the new update is based on. We think that with the completion of the update in July, the exact influencing factors can be determined.
At the current point, the “Important Web Data” report on Google Search Console is of great importance. In addition, “Mobile Usability” and “Page Experience” are other concepts that should be emphasized.
What Does Important Web Data Contain
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): It measures the time it takes for the telem content of the page to load completely, from the moment we enter the page.
First Input Delay (FID): Measures the time it takes the user to interact with the page. For example; the time it takes the user to press a button and get a response.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures the frequency with which visitors to the website experience unexpected layout shifts.