Inter-Dev Digital Marketing Podcast

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Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) plays a pivotal role in user experience and website rankings. In this episode, we delve into what CLS is, why it matters, and how it’s measured within Google’s Core Web Vitals. Find out how this metric can make or break your website’s visual stability and usability.

We’ll highlight common CLS issues, like dynamically added content and unoptimized ads, and explain why they negatively affect your website. You’ll also get practical advice on how to resolve these issues using techniques like responsive image sizing and isolating dynamic content.

Join us as we uncover actionable strategies to reduce CLS and improve your website's rankings. Whether you’re a seasoned SEO expert or just starting, this episode is packed with insights you can implement today.

Chapters: 
(00:00) Intro to What is CLS and what does it stand for?
(00:48) What causes a high CLS value?
(01:24) How can we pre-define image dimensions in a responsive web design?
(02:15) What else can be done to improve CLS scores?
(03:13) Outro on Cumulative Layout Shift

What is Inter-Dev Digital Marketing Podcast?

The podcast is proudly brought to you by Inter-Dev, an international B2B digital marketing agency dedicated to helping businesses navigate the digital landscape. We'll bring you insightful discussions, expert advice, and the latest trends in the industry.

Welcome to another episode of the Inter Dev B2B Digital Marketing Agency podcast.

What is CLS and what does it stand for?

CLS stands for “Cumulative Layout Shift”. It is a ranking factor and can be found in the core web vitals report in google search console. CLS measures a user experience (UX) event and became a ranking factor in 2021. It is a google term and refers to the instability of the user’s display of a webpage. High CLS values may occur when the webpage display is unstable. The metric indicates whether or not the page loads according to what the user expectations are.

What causes a high CLS value?

– Image dimensions: images that do not have a pre-defined display size.
– External elements: ads, iframes, external applications that do not have a predefined display size.
– Dynamic content: For example, content created dynamically by JavaScript code.
– Network font: For example, the definition of a font from an external site that changes the font text after it has been downloaded.

How can we pre-define image dimensions in a responsive web design?

– First, define the default width and height for all site media, images and videos and also for tables, iframes and external objects/elements.
– Use the CSS Aspect ratio feature that allows you to check in advance for the ratio between the object that was defined for height and width, and match them to the actual width of the screen while maintaining the same ratio.
If your site is defined with 100% image width and Auto height, which is the method used by many responsive websites, your browser will know ahead of time which height to define for a specific image. The method works well even if your site is using responsive Imaging in tandem with SRCSET. Note that this method works only for images.

What else can be done to improve CLS scores?

– Pre-define all dynamic content (for example responsive google ads). banners that appear suddenly and push the text around are exactly the kind of changes that negatively affect CLS scores.
– Ads can be isolated by using external DIV while pre-defining height and width to provide a better UX.
– Avoid adding new content above content that has already been loaded. This can be done only if the additional content was added as a result of user-action.

Inter-Dev is a leading B2B Digital Marketing agency specialized in Search Engine Optimization & PPC for start-ups, SEO for cybersecurity companies, medical device companies, technology companies, e-commerce websites and industrial B2B companies. We have over a decade of experience in helping companies achieve their lead generation goals.

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