FID in SEO stands for First Input Delay. It is a user-centric metric that measures the time it takes for a user’s first interaction with a web page to be processed by the browser. To understand FID, you need to know what SEO is.
Precisely, FID measures when a user clicks a button, taps a link, or takes some other action on a web page and when the browser responds to that action by starting to process it.
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FID is an important metric closely related to the user experience. A web page with a high FID can feel unresponsive and frustrating to users, leading to a poor user experience and lower engagement metrics like bounce rate and time on site. Therefore, FID is one of the core Web Vitals that Google uses to evaluate page experience, and it is a consideration among the best SEO practices that improve rankings.
Why FID Matters for Your Website SEO
FID is an important metric for website SEO because it is part of Google’s Core Web Vitals, a set of metrics that Google uses to assess the user experience of a website. Google stated that starting in May 2021, Core Web Vitals will be a ranking factor for search results, meaning that websites that perform well on these metrics will be more likely to rank higher.
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A poor FID score can result in a poor user experience, leading to a high bounce rate and lower engagement on the website. This, in turn, negatively impacts a website’s search engine ranking. Therefore, website owners must monitor and improve their FID score to ensure their sites provide a good user experience and perform well in search engine results.
Improving FID can involve various optimizations, such as minimizing third-party scripts, reducing the size of JavaScript and CSS files, optimizing images, and leveraging browser caching.
Does FID Score Affect Rankings In SEO
While FID is an important factor in providing a good user experience, it does not have a direct impact on search engine rankings in SEO. Search engines like Google prioritize user experience when ranking websites, and they consider various factors to assess the quality of a site. These factors may include page load speed, mobile-friendliness, content relevance, backlinks, and user engagement metrics. While FID contributes to the overall user experience, it is just one of many performance indicators.
That being said, FID indirectly influences SEO rankings through user behavior. A website with a slow or unresponsive FID can lead to a poor user experience, resulting in higher bounce rates, lower user engagement, and reduced time spent on the site. These negative user signals can affect SEO rankings.
Furthermore, Google has been placing increasing importance on Core Web Vitals, which include FID, as part of their ranking algorithm. Although FID alone may not be a direct ranking factor, it is part of a broader set of metrics that impact website performance and user experience, both of which are critical for SEO success. Therefore, it is important for websites to optimize their FID along with other factors to enhance overall user experience and potentially boost their rankings.
What Is a Good FID Score?
As mentioned earlier, FID measures the time it takes for a page to be interactive, which impacts how users perceive the responsiveness and usability of the page.
However, FID is not typically used as a ranking factor in SEO. While Google has stated that user experience is a ranking factor, FID is just one of many metrics that can impact user experience. Other metrics impacting the user experience and SEO include page load time, mobile responsiveness, and content quality.
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That being said, generally, a lower FID score is better because it indicates that the page is more responsive and provides a better user experience. A good FID score is typically considered below 100 milliseconds, but this can vary depending on the specific website and user expectations. It’s important to continually monitor and optimize FID and other user experience metrics to provide the best possible experience for your website visitors.
How to Measure FID in SEO
Measuring the FID (First Input Delay) in SEO involves assessing the user experience on your website. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to measure FID in SEO:
- Set up Google Analytics: Ensure that you have Google Analytics installed on your website. If you haven’t already done so, create an account, generate a tracking ID, and integrate the tracking code into your website.
- Enable User Timing API: The User Timing API allows you to measure various performance metrics, including FID. You need to enable it in your Google Analytics account. To do this, go to your Google Analytics admin settings, select the property for your website, and enable the User Timings setting.
Image Credits: leadgenera.com - Identify the target pages: Determine which pages you want to measure FID for. This could be your landing pages, high-traffic pages, or pages that are critical to your conversion funnel.
- Set up FID tracking code: Add the FID tracking code to the relevant pages. This code captures the timing information needed to calculate FID. Modify the code according to your specific use case, such as tracking FID for different types of interactions like form submissions or menu clicks.
- Test and verify FID tracking: Test the FID tracking code by interacting with your web pages as intended. Verify that the timing data is being recorded accurately in your Google Analytics account.
- Analyze FID data: After the tracking code has been deployed and tested, allow some time for data collection. Log in to your Google Analytics account, navigate to the Behavior section, and select Site Speed > User Timings. Here, you can view the FID data for the tracked interactions.
Image Credits: forbes.com - Set FID benchmarks: Determine the benchmark FID values you want to achieve for optimal user experience. Google recommends aiming for an FID of less than 100 milliseconds for an excellent user experience.
- Identify FID issues: Analyze the FID data to identify pages or interactions that have high FID values. These are the areas that need improvement to enhance user experience. Common causes of high FID include long JavaScript execution times, large render-blocking resources, or slow server response times.
Image Credits: edgemesh.com - Optimize for improved FID: Implement optimizations to reduce FID on the identified pages. Some strategies to consider include:
- Minimize and defer JavaScript execution.
- Optimize and compress images to reduce their impact on page load times.
- Use browser caching to cache static resources.
- Minimize render-blocking resources.
- Optimize server response times.
- Monitor and iterate: Continuously monitor the FID metrics using Google Analytics and other web performance tools. Measure the impact of your optimizations and make further adjustments as necessary to improve the FID scores.
How to Boost Your SEO Scores By Using FID
Here are some ways to improve your FID and boost your SEO scores:
1. Optimize Your Website’s Performance
You can optimize your website’s performance by:
- Optimizing images: Large images slow down your website, so compress them and use the appropriate image format (e.g., JPEG for photographs, PNG for transparent graphics).
- Prioritizing critical resources: Load essential resources, such as CSS and JavaScript, first to ensure your website’s most crucial elements are visible and functional as soon as possible.
- Using browser caching: Browser caching can help speed up your website by allowing users to access previously loaded resources from their cache rather than downloading them again.
- Reducing the number of HTTP requests: The more HTTP requests your website makes, the longer it will take to load, so try to reduce the number by consolidating files and using CSS sprites.
2. Include a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A CDN reduces the load time of your website by caching your website’s content and delivering it from a server closer to the user. We have covered how to use a CDN network to improve SEO.
3. Use a Preloader
A preloader can help reduce the perceived load time of your website by displaying a loading animation or progress bar while your website is loading. This can improve the user experience and reduce the likelihood of users bouncing from your website.
4. Use Lazy Loading
Lazy loading is a technique that loads only the content currently visible to the user while deferring the loading of the rest of the content until the user scrolls down the page. This can reduce the initial load time of your website and improve your FID score.
5. Minimize Third-Party Scripts
Third-party scripts, such as tracking scripts or social media widgets, can increase the load time of your website and negatively impact your FID score. Minimizing the number of third-party scripts on your website can help improve your FID score and overall website performance.
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Jacky Chou is an electrical engineer turned marketer. He is the founder of Indexsy, Far & Away, Laurel & Wolf, a couple FBA businesses , and about 40 affiliate sites. He is a proud native of Vancouver, BC, who has been featured on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes, Oberlo and GoDaddy.
