Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) in SEO

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Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) in SEO

Last Updated on March 21, 2024 by Saira Farman

As a digital marketing agency in Dubai, we strategized the best practices that enhance the user experience, because we adhere to Core Web Vitals, which is a special metric developed by Google. This metric ensures the loading performance of the website is at its best to offer the optimal client journey.

Following this method also increases the website’s search ranking positions

What is Cumulative Layout Shift?

One of the key metrics of core web vitals that measures the quality of a website for user experience is cumulative layout shift. While reading an article on the web page, sometimes the text moves and there are sudden changes in the website that are seen which appear without warning. The user experience is discontinued due to this unexpected movement and this shift is called the Layout shift. It is just annoying but in some cases, they can cause real damage.

How is SEO affected by CLS?

CLS is a ranking factor that correlates with user behavior metrics. Optimizing CLS should be a priority in your SEO strategy as it is no more just adding the right keywords to your web page. SEO is much more complicated than ever before as there are rapid advancements in digital platforms.

How we improve your Cumulative Layout Shift

  1. By Usage of Images and videos with right dimensions as declared in the HTML
  2. Adding a placeholder for an image will ensure no Ads get embedded
  3. Avoids dynamically injected content
  4. Avoids web-based fonts which cause FOIT/FOUT.

How we tackle various CLS

●      Intentional layout changes

It’s good to know that the CLS score will not be affected if the layout change is intentional and caused by the user. This includes the input exclusion window. In which any layout shifts that appear within half a second from user interaction with the site won’t affect your CLS.

●      Animations and layout shifts

We use a transform property to ensure Animations that cause layout shifts won’t affect your CLS.

●      Generating layout shifts

It is taken care of to ensure layout shifts occur within the input exclusion window. If layout shifts happen while loading the page or outside of the input exclusion window it will contribute to your CLS score, hence we avoid it.

●      Layout shifts and content above the fold

We place contents in places that can avoid CLS. If there are movements below the fold and the user does not see it, CLS won’t be affected.

Other Core web Vital metrics to be taken care of for SEO

FID: First input delay measures the time from when a user first interacts with your site to the time when the user is actually able to respond to any interaction they have initiated such as tapping on a button or clicking on the link in the website.

LCP: Largest Contentful Paint is one of the core web vital metrics, it measures the time a website takes to show the user the largest content on the screen that is ready for interaction. LCP considers only the content above the page’s fold.

Know how to optimize FID and LCP Scores

It’s possible to optimize the First input delay and the Largest Contentful Paint. Improvements bring results and tracking is a crucial part of the routine that can bring the change towards improvement. Set a series of routines in your daily duties as part of the analysis.

Reduce the JavaScript execution time

Reducing the amount of JavaScript on the web page determines the speed of how fast the browser can begin to respond to any user interactions.

Following are the ways to reduce the amount of JavaScript executed on your page:

●     Defer unused JavaScript

●    Minimize unused polyfills

●    Perform code-splitting or lazy loading, it is splitting a single large JavaScript bundle into smaller chunks that can be conditionally loaded

Fast sites are likely to provide the best user experience. Among the many concerns, LCP is considered the most important metric within Core Web Vitals. Therefore it needs to be monitored in order to optimize the web page.

Importance and Strategies for Optimization

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is a key metric in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that measures the stability of a website’s layout. It refers to the unexpected movement of visual elements on a webpage caused by the loading of additional content, images, or advertisements. This results in a poor user experience, as users may accidentally click on the wrong link or button. With the increasing emphasis on user experience in SEO, CLS has become a crucial factor in determining a website’s search engine ranking.

To optimize CLS, it is important to minimize the use of images or videos with unknown dimensions, ensure that dynamic content is properly sized, and reserve sufficient space for advertisements. The use of placeholder elements can also be effective in reducing CLS, as it provides an indication of the expected space that the content will occupy. Additionally, the use of asynchronous loading techniques can help reduce the impact of layout shifts caused by the loading of new content.

CLS is a crucial metric in SEO that can greatly impact a website’s ranking and user experience. By understanding its importance and implementing effective optimization strategies, website owners can ensure a smooth and stable layout, providing a better user experience for visitors.

Summary

User experience is a differentiator amongst your competitors, it is also a fundamental parameter for sites to be found on the web. It’s not enough to have attractive products or good content with sophisticated design. Concentrate on increasing the agility of the web page loading, it is favorable for the user and ensures SEO performance. Contact an SEO Agency in Dubai that follows these core web vitals metrics such as CLS to enhance the user experience. Partnering with an SEO agency in Dubai helps you to provide an uninterrupted user experience. As a leading digital agency, we understand the importance and advancements in SEO thus layout shifts are diagnosed, calculated, and avoided. If the visitors need to remain on your webpage, the site should not take much time to present what it has to offer. Contact us to improve your SEO and to increase your user experience.

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