Google announced that on March 12, 2024, it will replace the First Input Delay (FID) metric with the Interaction to Next Paint (INP) as a Core Web Vitals metric, as previously anticipated. INP is a metric that utilizes data from the Event Timing API to assess the responsiveness of a webpage. It observes the latency of user interactions and reports a single value, with the goal being to ensure a positive user experience. Google provided examples of poor and good responsiveness, highlighting the importance of a webpage’s performance.
As part of the Core Web Vitals, Google will replace the FID metric with the INP metric in March 2024. The Google Search Console will subsequently include INP in the Core Web Vitals report, with plans to stop displaying FID metrics and utilize INP moving forward. This change may prompt SEOs who have focused on FID scores to shift their attention to optimizing for INP.
Google recognized the significance of these changes and introduced the INP reports to the Search Console in the middle of last year to give website owners time to prepare. While Core Web Vitals and these metrics are important, Google emphasizes that they are not the sole aspect to consider when aiming to enhance a site’s page experience. It is recommended to prioritize creating excellent sites for users and not to become overly fixated on these scores.
In conclusion, website owners are encouraged to evaluate their INP scores and consider making quick improvements if necessary, while refraining from becoming overly obsessed with the metrics. Ultimately, the goal is to provide a responsive and fast website for users without solely relying on third-party tools to assess performance.
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