A new study has shown that eight out of ten of Ireland’s top businesses are failing new online performance metrics.
Google is finalising the rollout of its new Core Web Vitals measures, its updated method of assessing real-world user experience across three core website areas relating to page loading speeds, responsiveness and visual consistency and stability.
Research from Dublin-based digital agency, MWI has studied the performance of Ireland’s top 250 businesses and found that a staggering 79% of them currently fail Google’s core web vitals tests.
“Google’s shift to supporting those businesses who present fast, easy-to-navigate and responsive sites to its customers presents a huge opportunity for business who are keen to get to grips with their digital footprint," said MWI managing partner, Declan Kelly.
“However, it’s a worrying starting position for some of Ireland’s biggest businesses. We’re emerging from a lockdown period that clearly informed businesses of all sizes that strong digital and web presence will be crucial for future success. If you’re failing core web vitals or not developing your digital footprint, businesses will find themselves falling a long way behind their competitors.”
MWI’s findings also found that almost a quarter (23%) of those same businesses have seen its search engine visibility decline against competitors, a concerning figure given 89% of all online purchases start with initial search. The findings from MWI also revealed six out of ten (59%) don’t have a domain authority over 40. Domain authority is a search engine ranking out of 100 that predicts how likely a website is to rank positively on a search engine, like Google. The higher the domain authority, the more likely it is a website will feature higher up in search results.
“The results show that there is huge potential for Irish businesses to reap the benefits of improving their digital footprint which in turn will fuel their future growth," added Kelly.
"To succeed and thrive Irish businesses can and must do better. They are our focus at MWI. We will bring proven strategic and creative digital expertise to help them dominate their digital landscapes, something that the findings show have lots of scope for improvement.”
MWI marks the first physical space outside of the UK for Mediaworks UK, the 15-year-old, award-winning agency who are headquartered in North East England. MWI is led by Kelly, who is one of the most experienced individuals in the Irish marketing industry.
Check www.MWI.ie for more.
