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  • Core Web Vitals: Google Set May 2021 Date for Page Experience Search Ranking Update

    Core Web Vitals: Google Set May 2021 Date for Page Experience Search Ranking Update

    Google posted on Tuesday the date they expect to push live the previously announced page experience search ranking update: May 2021.

    Page Experience

    Back in May of this year Google announced that they would be integrating various page experience related ranking signals into their algorithms. 

    Page experience signals relate to how users perceive the experience of visiting and using a web-page.

    Primary page experience signals include factors such as: how long a page takes to load, how long it takes to become interactive, and the stability of different elements on a web-page as it loads.

    Originally announced by the Google Chrome team: ‘Web Vitals’, aka ‘Core Web Vitals‘ are a new set of page experience metrics developed by Google – designed to allow for a unified and improved collaboration on improving user experience across the web.

    New Integrations

    As well as the metrics themselves, Google revealed integrations across their suite of testing and reporting tools, from Lighthouse / Web.Dev, to a new Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console itself.

    This new report in Search Console allows webmasters to see the collated page experience results for users in bulk across different URLs on a website assuming enough data has been collected – something which can be a problem for smaller sites.

    Google stated at the time that they ultimately expected the new metrics to be used in the forthcoming search ranking updates.

    Date Announced

    Well the specific time for that integration has now been announced, and the date will be essentially one year after the original announcement: May 2021.

    As stated in Tuesday’s blogpost on the Webmaster Central blog, Google will be combining Core Web Vitals with existing ranking signals such as mobile-friendliness, HTTPS usage, and intrusive mobile interstitials, as shown in the following graphic.

    Where Core Web Vitals will fit into the upcoming search ranking update
    Graphic showing where Core Web Vitals will fit into the upcoming search ranking update

    So what does this mean in simple terms? It means that Google’s new page experience metrics will have an impact on the SEO of websites.

    Realistically the new signals will probably start off quite weak as ranking factors, and may then over time get tightened up as Google gain confidence in their ability to provide reliable results for users.

    In other Core Web Vitals news, today Chris Johnson released a Core SERP Vitals Chrome extension that enables users to see Core Web Vitals information pulled from the Chrome User Experience Report, direct in Google search results.

    This could be useful if you want to see a really quick score to compare sites, without having to run a report manually.

    Core SERP Vitals
  • Google’s .New Domains – What Are They & 20+ Shortcut List

    Google’s .New Domains – What Are They & 20+ Shortcut List

    A curated list of useful .new domain names with an explanation of what they are.

    ServiceDomainWhat do you get?
    WordPressBlog.newNew WP.com blog post
    CodaCoda.newNew document
    CanvaDesign.newNew graphic
    GoogleDoc.newNew Google Doc
    MicrosoftExcel.newNew Excel document
    GoogleForms.newNew Google Form
    GitHubGist.newNew GitHub gist
    StripeInvoice.newNew invoice
    WebexLetsmeet.newNew meeting
    Bit.lyLink.newNew Link
    GoogleMeeting.newNew Google Calendar meeting
    GoogleNote.newNew Google Keep note
    MicrosoftOffice.newOffice dashbaord
    SpotifyPlaylist.newPlaylist
    SpotifyPodcast.newPodcast
    eBaySell.newNew item to sell
    GoogleSheet.newGoogle Sheets
    GoogleSite.newGoogle Sites
    GoogleSlide.newGoogle Slides
    MediumStory.newStory page
    StripeSubscription.newNew subscription
    AsanaTask.newAsana
    MicrosoftWord.newNew Word doc

    You can view the full list of .New domains here.

    .new domain graphic

    What are .new domains?

    Introduced by Google in 2018, and opened up to additional companies in 2019, .new domains are designed to be shortcuts to common new actions on the web.

    The idea is that loading the domain name should take you straight to the new service.

    For example if you want to launch a new spreadsheet, you would go straight to the new sheet – instead of having to go to a dashboard and then click ‘new spreadsheet’ or similar.

    “Posting, linking, designing, recording — it’s all possible with action-based .new links. Replace menus and long URLs with easy-to-remember shortcuts.”

    You can find out more about dot new domains on the Whats.new website.

    .new animation

    Can I get a .new domain for my website/business?

    You can apply for a .new domain on Get.new if you think you have a suitable web action.

    Google may reject your application if they think it is unsuitable.

    Google .new domains are unlikely to be suitable for a large number of different types of websites.

    For example if you have an e-commerce website, blog, portfolio site, or similar – a .new domain would almost certainly not be appropriate.

    Security, HTTPS & HSTS

    Google like to focus on security with their domains, and like other Google domain extensions (such as .dev), .new domains have HSTS built-in and turned on by default.

    This means that users visiting a .new domain will always be automatically forwarded (using a 307 redirect) to the secure version of the website if they attempt to visit a non-secure URL.

    For example when a user visits http://docs.new it will yield a 307 redirect to https://docs.new, then a 302 redirect to the new document.

  • Core Web Vitals Explained by DebugBear’s Matt Zeunert

    Core Web Vitals Explained by DebugBear’s Matt Zeunert

    Google first started incorporating site speed into its rankings back in 2010.

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  • Google: Here’s How to List Work From Home Jobs

    Google: Here’s How to List Work From Home Jobs

    In response to an upsurge in work-from-home (WFH) recruitment positions following COVID-19, Google have repeated their advice on how companies and recruitment agencies making use of Google Jobs Search (aka Google for Jobs) can markup their jobs to highlight WFH positions.

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  • Google Dorks to Find Hacked Websites & Parasite SEO Spam

    Google Dorks to Find Hacked Websites & Parasite SEO Spam

    With some fairly rudimentary search skills it is possible to both find and monitor for compromised web-pages and parasite SEO spam.

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  • Pre-Instagram Photo Sharing Giant Fotolog Now Spam Blog

    Pre-Instagram Photo Sharing Giant Fotolog Now Spam Blog

    Long-standing photo sharing site Fotolog has quietly shut-down and been turned into an SEO spam blog.

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  • Can You Use Javascript/GTM to Add a Noindex Meta Robots Tag?

    Can You Use Javascript/GTM to Add a Noindex Meta Robots Tag?

    Earlier this month Google published a new JavaScript SEO basics document.

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  • Google Launch June 2019 Core Algorithm Update

    Google Launch June 2019 Core Algorithm Update

    Another month, another algorithm update from Google.

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  • Top 15 UK Personal Finance Blogs 2018 List

    Top 15 UK Personal Finance Blogs 2018 List

    Our list of the top 15 UK personal finance blogs for 2018.

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  • Does Using Rel=”Alternate” Hreflang Tags Share or Consolidate Link Authority (Juice)?

    Does Using Rel=”Alternate” Hreflang Tags Share or Consolidate Link Authority (Juice)?

    This is a common yet quite technical question, which can leave even some experienced SEOs scratching their heads to work out.

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  • Does Adding rel=”noopener noreferrer” to a Link affect SEO?

    Does Adding rel=”noopener noreferrer” to a Link affect SEO?

    You may have recently noticed that WordPress has started adding rel=”noopener noreferrer” to links by default.

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  • Creating a Static/HTML Sitemap in WordPress Without a Plugin

    Creating a Static/HTML Sitemap in WordPress Without a Plugin

    We have put together a quick guide to creating a static/HTML sitemap in WordPress without having to install a plugin.

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