Understanding the New Core Web Vital - Interaction to Next Paint (INP) and Its Impact on Publishing Success

In today's digital age, the success of websites, especially those run by publishers, heavily depends on how happy visitors are with their browsing experience.

Think of the last time you left a website because it was too slow or kept jumping around as it loaded.

Frustrating, right?

That's exactly what Google wants to help us avoid with the introduction of the Core Web Vitals(CWV) a few years ago. These are like health checks for websites, making sure they're fast, responsive, and stable.

Now, there's a new CWV: Interaction to Next Paint (INP).

Simply put, INP measures how quickly a website responds to your clicks or taps, and then actually does something you can see on the screen.

Imagine clicking a button and waiting forever for the next page to show up—that's what INP is all about improving.

Why does this matter for publishers?

Websites that score well on these checks tend to appear higher in search results, attracting more visitors.

More visitors mean more readers and, ultimately, more revenue for publishers.

So, understanding and improving INP is not just about making Google happy; it's about providing a better experience for your readers, which keeps them coming back for more.

In this article, we'll dive into what INPs are,their importance to publishers, and how you can make sure your website is up to speed.

Whether you're tech-savvy or not, we'll keep it simple, avoiding the technical jargon, and focus on what you really need to know to keep your site shining in the eyes of both Google and your readers.

Let's get started!

How Do We Measure Interaction to Next Paint?

The Interaction to Next Paint (INP) metric calculates the delay from a user's action, such as clicks and key presses, to the subsequent update on the website's interface. This delay is broken down into three key parts:

• Input Delay Time: The time spent waiting for the page to finish background tasks that block the event handler from executing.
• Processing Time: The duration it takes for JavaScript event handlers to execute.
• Presentation Delay: The time needed to manage additional pending interactions, recompute the layout of the page, and render the content.

For Interaction to Next Paint (INP), Google counts mouse clicks, taps on touch screens, and key presses. However, hovering and scrolling actions are not included in the INP measurement.

How The New Core Web Vital Will Impact Publishers

Here's how it affects publishers, especially if you have ads on your site:

1. Decreased User Engagement: Slow responsiveness to interactions can frustrate users, leading to a decrease in page views, time spent on the site, and overall engagement​​.
2. Lower Conversion Rates: For websites aiming to convert visitors into subscribers, customers, or clients, poor responsiveness can lead to a lower conversion rate.
   Users are less likely to complete actions if they encounter delays or unresponsive pages​​​​.
3. Increased Bounce Rates: Frustrated by slow interactions, users might leave the site more quickly than they otherwise would, increasing the website's bounce rate.
   This is particularly detrimental for e-commerce and content-heavy sites where engagement is key to success​​​​.
4. Negative Impact on SEO Rankings: Since INP is a Core Web Vital, its metrics influence a website's ranking in search engine results.
   Poor INP scores can lead to lower visibility on search engines, reducing organic traffic to the site​​​​.
5. Damage to Brand Reputation: Slow and unresponsive websites can harm a brand's reputation. Users may associate the negative experience with the brand's overall quality and reliability, deterring them from returning or recommending the site to others​​​​.
6. Ad Revenue Loss: For publishers relying on advertising revenue, reduced user engagement and higher bounce rates can directly impact ad impressions and clicks.
   This can lead to a decrease in ad revenue over time as advertisers might pay less for placements on a poorly performing site​​​​.
7. Challenges in Keeping Up with Competitors: As more publishers optimize for INP and improve their site's responsiveness, those who do not will find it increasingly difficult to compete.

This can result in a loss of market share to competitors who offer a better user experience​​​​.

To avoid these negative outcomes, publishers should optimise for INP, ensuring their websites respond quickly to user interactions, and maintain high standards of user experience.

How Can Publishers Prepare?

Here's how to do it in simple steps:

1. Check Your Score: First, you need to see how your website is doing. Google uses something called PageSpeed Insights to give you a report of your website’s performance.

An INP score under 200 milliseconds is considered good, while a score above 500 milliseconds is deemed poor.

2. Find the Slow Spots: If your website isn't getting top marks, it's time to play detective.

Find out where the slow parts are. This might be because of heavy JavaScript making your site drag or because there's a lot going on when the page loads.

3. Speeding Up Response Times

First up, let's tackle how quickly your website can start responding to your visitors' clicks and taps.

If your website is like a busy kitchen; if too many cooks (background tasks) are using the stove (main thread), it'll take longer to start cooking (respond to user input).

Here's what you can do:

• Limit the Hustle and Bustle: Cut down on the number of tasks running in the background. This makes it easier for your website to start responding to users faster.
• Smart Scheduling: If you're using extra tools or codes from other companies, see if you can tweak them to be less demanding or activate them only when needed.
• Check the Traffic: Tools that measure website performance can show you if background activities are holding up the show.

Look for something called "Total Blocking Time" to get the solution.

4. Streamlining the Workload

Now, onto making sure the tasks your website needs to do are done more efficiently:

• Be a Smart Publisher: In platforms built with languages like React, make sure you're not redoing tasks that aren't necessary.
• Rearrange the Platform: If your website spends a lot of time rearranging elements (layout work), see if you can simplify things.
• Multitask Wisely: For tasks that need heavy lifting (complex JavaScript), consider showing a waiting icon quickly, then doing the heavy work right after.

Or, even better, use a separate space (web worker) to handle these tasks without slowing down the main area.

5. Avoiding Website Traffic Jams

Methods like alert boxes can put a pause on everything else, adding to the wait time. Think of it as stopping all kitchen activity to answer the phone—everything else waits until that call is done.

6. Delivering What's Important First

Focus on showing the most critical parts of your page quickly ("above the fold" content).

If the entire page takes a while to get ready, prioritize what your visitors see first to make it feel faster.

By following these tips, you're not just tweaking numbers—you're making your website a welcoming place where visitors want to stay, interact, and return.

It's all about creating a fast, responsive experience that feels as good as it looks.

Ahead of the Curve: Partnering with Jubna for Tomorrow's Success

As the web evolves with the introduction of Interaction to Next Paint (INP) to the Core Web Vitals on March 12, it's a pivotal moment for publishers to enhance their websites' responsiveness and user experience.

This transition offers a prime opportunity to not only align with Google's new standards but also to prioritize the satisfaction and loyalty of your audience.

By focusing on creating a seamless, engaging user experience, publishers can set the stage for lasting success.

Jubna, a leading native ads company, stands ready to partner with publishers during this crucial time.

Our goal is to help you generate more revenue through native advertising, without compromising the quality of your users' experience.

By teaming up with Jubna, you can leverage our expertise to ensure that your ads not only comply with the latest web standards but also enhance user engagement and site performance.

We invite new publishers to join us in redefining the future of online content and advertising.

With Jubna, embrace the shift towards a more responsive, user-centric web, and unlock new revenue opportunities for your site.

Let's make a difference together—one click at a time.