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Google's New Core Web Vitals Metric: Interaction to Next Paint (INP)

Google’s New Core Web Vitals Metric: Interaction to Next Paint (INP)

in Blog / SEO  by VereNorth

Google has recently announced that Interaction to Next Paint (INP) will become a primary Core Web Vitals metric, replacing First Input Delay (FID), starting in March 2024.

What is Interaction to Next Paint?

Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is a fairly new metric developed by Google to help website owners and developers evaluate the responsiveness of user interactions on their web pages. It measures the time it takes for a website to respond to all user interactions, such as button clicks or link taps, and provides the maximum time for all or most interactions.

Why is INP Important?

INP focuses on user experience and responsiveness, which are crucial aspects of site speed in today’s fast-paced digital world. Users expect websites to be fast and responsive, and a slow response to their actions can lead to a poor user experience, increased bounce rates, and potential revenue loss. INP sheds light on interactivity pain points.

How is INP Different from FID?

INP and FID are both performance metrics that measure different aspects of a website’s interactivity and responsiveness. While FID is concerned with the initial page load interactivity, INP focuses on interactions after the page has loaded. INP provides a broader view of the browsing experience by considering the entire lifecycle of user interactions.

How Does Interaction to Next Paint (INP) Work?

INP measures the time it takes for a user to interact with an element on the page and the subsequent paint event that occurs. It assesses the speed at which the browser can process and display the outcome of a user’s interaction.

What Is a Good Interaction to Next Paint Score?

Aiming for an INP score of 200ms or less is considered ideal for providing an enjoyable user experience. Google has set scoring guidelines, with scores ranging from “Good” (0-200ms) to “Needs improvement” (201-500ms) and “Poor” (Over 500ms).

Tools to Measure INP

Several tools are available to measure INP, including Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX), WebPageTest, Browser Developer Tools, and Custom JavaScript.

How to Improve Your INP Score

Improving INP involves addressing long input delays, optimizing event callbacks, and reducing presentation delays. Strategies include optimizing JavaScript, prioritizing event handling, minimizing main thread activity, and deferring non-critical tasks.

In conclusion, Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is a valuable Core Web Vitals metric that provides insights into the responsiveness of a website’s user interactions. Improving INP scores can lead to a smoother user experience, increased engagement, and potentially higher search engine rankings, contributing to the overall success of a website.

Guide to Linking Your Google Ads to GA4

Guide to Linking Your Google Ads to GA4

in Analytics / Blog / PPC  by VereNorth

 … And why we think it’s worth it

Hello fellow marketers! It’s time to connect your Google Ads to the new Google Analytics (GA4).

GA4 is replacing Universal Analytics (UA), formerly Urchin Analytics. UA has been around since 2005 and we agree that it is time for some disruption.

GA4 promises to give us a better view into the entire customer journey. The update includes the integration of Looker’s business data visualizations. This, along with the new default Data-Driven Attribution is truly going to give us actionable data on which touchpoints convert customers.

If you are hesitant about linking to GA4, there is good news! You will still have access to your Universal Analytics property, and it will continue to collect data alongside the new GA4 instance.

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How Long Do 301 Redirects Last?

How Long Do 301 Redirects Last?

in Blog / SEO  by VereNorth

Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Gary Illyes addressed a persistent question: How long do 301 redirects last? His answer: one year. But like many things with Google, there’s a bit more to it. Illyes goes on to explain that even after the redirect is removed, the signals do not go back to the origin page but stick with the destination page. So the answer to, “How long do 301s need to be alive to permanently move a page in Google’s eyes?” The answer is one year.

Let’s back up and explain that in detail.

There’s more to it!

For years, Google has recommended that you keep a redirect live for one year for Google Search purposes. If that redirect is live for a year, all the signals from the original page will be transferred to the destination page and stay with it even after the redirect is removed. Illyes also confirmed the one year mark starts when Google first crawls the page, not when the page itself was created. This also applies as long as there is no change to the redirected link. So, if you create a new inbound link to the origin page but there is no longer a redirect in place, then it gets crawled again as a normal page, and no value is passed along to the redirected link.

Google updated its site move instructions with the following, as listed in section six: “Keep the redirects for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year. This timeframe allows Google to transfer all signals to the new URLs, including recrawling and reassigning links on other sites that point to your old URLs. From users’ perspective, consider keeping redirects indefinitely. However, redirects are slow for users, so try to update your own links and any high-volume links from other websites to point to the new URLs.”

That means that once the redirect is removed, any new signals pointing to the origin page will not be passed along. If a signal was already passed to the new destination, it will stay there “no matter what.”

How long should you maintain your redirects?

This is more about managing and maintaining your redirects for search AND users. Hot takes:

  • Your redirect needs to be alive and well for at least 1 year from the day Google crawls it.
  • If anything changes in the status of that redirect, the 1-year clock resets.
  • Leave the redirect up indefinitely for users since it’s unlikely all inbound links to the old page will be updated.
  • Redirects do slow down the user experience.
  • Updating links from your old pages to the new pages is good practice.
The Impact of Returning to “Normal.” A Covid Story.

The Impact of Returning to “Normal.” A Covid Story.

in Blog  by VereNorth

If you’ve said, “2020 was my best year” or “we grew in 2020 despite the pandemic” you might be in for a reset in 2021 and into 2022. We don’t want to alarm you, but we do want to help you set realistic expectations. It may be best to expect a pullback from 2020 numbers.

2020 Success May Not Be So Easy to Maintain

When Covid hit in early 2020, we saw clients with digital products, digital solutions, online businesses, and even some brick and mortar companies thrive. Additionally, companies that invested aggressively to grow during the downturn were able to outmaneuver competitors who didn’t have the foresight, or the funds, to remain strong when business slowed.

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Google Core Web Vitals Metrics for 2021 SEO

Google Announces Core Web Vitals. Start Planning.

in Blog / SEO  by VereNorth

Coming sometime in 2021, Google will be changing the way site speed affects search rankings. The new ranking signal will be lovingly titled the “page experience signal” and will be combined with Core Web Vitals per an announcement from Google. Google suggests you’ll be given notice six-months before rolling out the changes, so you don’t have to respond immediately. But it would be wise to start preparing now.

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Does your copy pass the skim test?

Does Your Copy Pass the Skim Test?

in Blog  by VereNorth

You did it. You researched your topic, wrote multiple drafts, revised and edited, and finally polished it up. Now your article or blog post is ready for the world.

But wait! Before you click the publish button, there’s one final important step: content layout. Give your copy the best chance for success by making it as reader-friendly as possible.

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Image SEO: How To Optimize Images For Better Ranking

Image SEO: How To Optimize Images For Better Ranking

in Blog / SEO  by VereNorth

We hate to break it to you, but you may have an image problem. Here’s why:

In February 2018, Google made a big change when it removed the “view image” option. Now when you search for images, if you want to enlarge or copy it, you must click the “visit” button and go to the website where the image lives.

This means image SEO is more important than ever. But where do you start? Check out some of our top image tips below.

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Google My Business Posts For Small Businesses

Google My Business Posts For Small Businesses

in Blog / Local Optimization / SEO  by VereNorth

For small business owners, any tool that you can use to help bring information about your company to potential customers is a good thing. The more you can do to reach new people and keep your name in the minds of existing customers is worth looking into. With that in mind, Google has created Google Posts, a new way of communicating with your customers from your Google My Business listing.

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