What Is Google’s Page Experience Update, and How Will it Affect SEO?

 Posted on May 12, 2021 in Changes with Google

Since Google searches are one of the primary ways people find information online, search engine optimization (SEO) experts pay close attention to any changes made by Google that may affect how sites show up in search results. Currently, Google is planning to roll out a major update that will begin to consider the experience that people can expect when using websites. This change may affect search rankings for many different types of sites, and website owners will want to understand what they can do to make sure people will continue to be able to find them when searching on Google.

What Is Page Experience?

Google has continually made improvements to its software to make sure people can find information quickly and easily. Over the past several years, Google has emphasized the importance of making websites easy to use for everyone, and it has begun to consider factors such as the speed at which a site loads and whether people can easily access a site using mobile devices. With the latest update, Google will be considering the overall experience for those who use a site. Sites that provide a good experience will be more likely to rank higher in search results, while sites with a poor experience may see drops in their search rankings.

To determine what exactly is considered a good experience, Google has created a set of factors known as “Core Web Vitals.” These look at: 

• Performance - Ideally, the primary elements of a page, including the largest image or block of text, should load within 2.5 seconds after a user accesses the page.

• Interactivity - Delays between when a person interacts with a site, such as by clicking or tapping on a link, and when the site responds should be 100 milliseconds or less.

• Visual stability - Unexpected changes to the layout of a page, which can sometimes occur when content or images are loading, can make it difficult for visitors to navigate through a site, or they may accidentally click on the wrong buttons or links. A site should minimize the unexpected movement of content on a page.

Google will be considering Core Web Vitals alongside a variety of other factors, including the security that a site provides for its users and whether a site includes pop-ups that make it difficult for users to view the site’s content. Google will begin to gradually roll out the page experience update in mid-June of 2021.

Contact Our SEO and User Experience Professionals

At OVC, INC., we make sure the websites we design fully comply with all of Google’s guidelines while providing helpful, informative content to users. If you are concerned that your website may be negatively affected by Google’s new update, or if you want to find ways to improve the experience for people who use your site, contact our website design experts at 630-635-8000.

Sources:

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2021/04/more-details-page-experience?hl=en

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2020/05/evaluating-page-experience

https://web.dev/vitals/#core-web-vitals