Some of the most critical new Google updates involve the new user experience suite of metrics

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When it comes to Google SEO, there is no such thing as the last word because strategies are always changing. While this might be difficult for businesses attempting to get their products or services in the public eye, the end result according to Google is that all users will have a better viewing experience as a consequence of implementing the new updates.

While it’s no secret that Google tweaks the engine’s search algorithm on a regular basis, many of the modifications are not made public and require website owners to stay on top of the updates. After all, Google’s purpose is to offer users the best possible search results, not to assist the marketers in developing short-cut SEO tactics.

Let’s take a look at some of the Google search engine updates for 2021

Some of the most important features are LCP, FCP, FID and CLS.

LCP – Largest Contentful Paint, measures the length of time it takes for main-page content to load so the page is ready to use. (User Experience Metric)

FCP – Another User Experience Metric is Full Contentful Paint, the time it takes to load the largest chunk of content. This is helpful in letting users know they have reached an active website but are not yet able to use the navigation etc while the page finishes loading. Some of the items measured are text, images, non-canvas elements, scalable vector graphics. Lots of elements can trigger and cause the FCP score to be low.

FID – First Input Delay, measures the user’s ability to interact with a website. For example the time between clicking a link and the time it takes to load the action in the browser, this delay is measured in milliseconds.

CLS – Cummulative Layout Shift measures that layout shift and the webpage ability to shift and be responsive desktop and mobile phones. More specifically measuring the time it takes to load a page as the result of a layout shift.

Google Analytics 4 – AI-assisted data gathering is one of the main features of Google Analytics 4. Privacy concerns are restricting the other data alternatives marketers have in collecting certain types of insights about their audiences.

Why does this matter to website owners? These scores will continue to have an impact on your search results today and in the future. I recommend looking at the results of your scores and, if you fall into the red zone, below a 50, improving your site. If you’re in the orange zone, you might need to make some changes. If you are in the green you should be good to go.