Google released the Core Web Vitals update on March 12, 2024.
The new Interaction to Next Paint (INP) metric has become a core metric for Core Web Vitals in Serch Console.
The INP metric was first introduced in 2022. From March 12, 2024, IPN will completely replace FID (First Input Delay).
Photo from the Google blog
Also read: Google’s March 2024 update: improved search quality and changes to spam
What is the INP metric?
INP is a metric that measures the response time of a web page to a specific user action. That is, INP shows how often the browser displays the results of these changes on the user’s screen. For example, after pressing a button.
The previous FID metric only showed the time of the first interaction.
Starting in 2022, Google will provide developers with recommendations to improve their INP.
Rate your site with PageSpeed Insights and the Chrome User Experience Report via Search Console. Find slow interactions with testing. These are often long JavaScript tasks, large DOM, high main thread activity, and complex CSS selectors. Optimize your website.
INP scores can affect a website’s search engine ranking and user engagement because Google uses Core Web Vitals in its ranking algorithm. Google directly states this in the updated Documentation.
Core Web Vitals are used by Google’s algorithms to rank websites on the search results page to provide the best user experience. However, scoring well in Core Web Vitals in Serch Console does not guarantee that your web pages will rank at the top of Google’s search results. This metric is needed to improve the website for users as a whole, not just for SEO reasons.
How to quickly assess the usability of a web page?
In the updated documentation, Google also offers a short checklist for self-checking usability indicators:
Are the main metrics of the page high? Does your website look safe to users? Having trouble loading items on the mobile version? Too many ads? Are ads distracting from the main content? Are there no intrusive inter-page ads? Can the user distinguish primary content from secondary content?
In the document, Google points out that the questions do not cover all aspects of the interaction. However reviewing the checklist items along with technical tools like Chrome Lighthouse and the HTTPS report in Search Console will help improve your website experience.
