Google’s 2021 core web vitals update is coming in May.

We spoke with technical SEO expert Joe Hall about what you need to do to get your website in shape for the core web vitals update.

Don’t panic, Ouster Marketing has your back.

In this interview with Joe Hall, you’ll learn the following:

How to get your website ready for Google’s 2021 Core Web Vitals Update
The most common, boneheaded technical SEO mistakes that cost companies big money
The basics of technical SEO
The best SEO tools to spend your hard-earned money on
And the backstory of technical SEO expert Joe Hall

More about Joe Hall

In the marketing community, Joe is considered one of the best technical SEOs in the game. He’s been developing websites since the days of dial-up internet and has over a decade of experience working as a professional SEO.

He’s the founder of Hall Analysis, a high-level SEO consulting agency with big-name clients like Buffer and NBC Universal.

Enjoy The Interview

If you would prefer to read the interview, below you will find a transcription that is edited for clarity and convenience.

Ouster Marketing: Can you give webmasters some recommendations for how they can get ready for Google’s 2021 core web vitals update?

Joe Hall: Webmasters and SEOs, in general, need to get back to basics. The truth is, is that fundamentally the fundamental basics of SEO are still very important.

I get clients all the time who are not implementing the basic aspects of SEO.

Let’s be clear about what the best practices are. I break it down into 3 areas. Here’s the checklist:

1). Technical SEO

Clean HTML, Javascript, CSS.

Best practices for Internal Linking, Structured Data, Page Speed

2). Content Creation

Is it well-developed for the user? Is it optimized with the right keywords? Is it enough content? Are you removing duplicate content?

3). Link Building

Are you getting high-quality links? Do you have enough links? Are you getting a good mix of anchor texts?

Do you have an anchor text that also drives the right terminology for each page? And then are those links being spread onto the rest of the site in a way that works well for search engines and users.

If you can follow the best practices for each one of those areas, then you should do well with SEO. And, in addition to that, you will be in good shape for Google’s 2021 core web vitals update.

Ouster Marketing: How did you get involved with technical SEO?

Joe Hall: I was a web developer for a long time, started back in the 90s. I went to college and studied politics, and while I was there I worked with a lot of non-profits, building websites for them.

Eventually, my clients started asking me more about marketing. And so I started looking more into SEO and started doing SEO in 2009.

I went to work for an agency doing SEO, then left there and started Hall Analysis.

Hall Analysis is like a hybrid between an agency and a consulting firm, but we primarily do SEO consulting.

Ouster Marketing: What is the most common, boneheaded technical SEO mistake you come across?

Joe Hall: Most people are not adhering to the best practices.

One of the things that we see: A lot of internal links are 301ing. And we see internal links pointing to 404s.

The most damaging mistakes that I see are when companies implement a domain migration without using an SEO to help out with that process

I don't think a lot of companies realize how many different things can go wrong in that process. I had a client this year who lost 90% of their total traffic because of a site migration error.

Ouster Marketing: What SEO tools do you recommend?

Joe Hall: I always tell people that the most important SEO tool that you can have is the one found between your ears. You need to develop that SEO experience to know when to use the tools and what the context of the situation is.

As far as technical SEO tools, like a crawler, I really like screaming Frog.

But if you’re trying to save money and are looking for a great all-in-one SEO tool, SEM Rush is a good choice.

Ouster Marketing: What will SEO look like in 2021?

Joe Hall: Back to the basics.

Are you ready for Google's 2021 core web vitals update?