Page Experience Update June 2021…
Discover everything you need to know about Google’s page experience update right here in this post!
Over the years, Google have developed and released numerous algorithm updates, each geared towards pointing users to the most relevant and useful websites.
Including ranking factor updates on; mobile-friendliness, safe browsing, HTTPS, and the Core Web Vital metrics, all designed to measure speed and user experience.
The Google search ranking algorithm update is set to roll out in June 2021 with new factors to be incorporated.
This new Page Experience update is believed to have a meaningful impact on search rankings.
Here, we will closely examine what this update will mean for your business and how best to prepare.
What is the Page Experience update?
The Page Experience update is Google’s new search ranking algorithm set to be released in mid-June of this year and completed by the end of August 2021.
Google suggests that websites displaying valuable information clearly are likely to offer the best page experiences, enabling site visitors to engage more deeply and get more done.
The new algorithm update will incorporate a variety of new and updated metrics known as Core Web Vitals, all focused upon user experience factors.
Google will closely monitor every aspect of how visitors interact with a web page with the new Page Experience algorithm update.
What are the current ranking factors?
The existing ranking factors, which will continue to be key metrics include:
- Mobile responsiveness – A measure of how well a web page performs when viewed on a mobile device. Click here to check whether your website page is mobile-friendly.
- HTTPS – A primary authentication protocol for sending data between a web browser and website. Check the secureness of your website’s connection here.
- Safe browsing – Check the safety of your web page to see if it contains any deceptive or malicious content. To check whether your website has any issues relating to safe browsing click here.
- Intrusive interstitial guidelines – These pop-ups are disruptive to user experience as they make a page difficult to access. Check here whether you are using interstitials in an accessible way.
In an ideal world, a website visitor would click on a link from a search engine and be presented with a quick loading website and easy to navigate web pages.
But web pages can often be often complex things however, with many taking seemingly forever to load despite ever increasing internet connection speeds.
Since the new update combines existing metrics together with a new set of signals, any recent improvements that you have made to your page load speed and overall design may unfortunately not be quite enough.
Google’s June page experience update – New Metrics
Google’s June update will involve the roll out of new Core Web Vital components, which will include:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – LCP is an accurate measure of the length of time the largest image or text block takes to appear on a web page.
The current LCP load time is set at less than 2.5 seconds so, any page that takes longer than 4 seconds will be considered as having poor LCP by Google.
- First Input Delay (FID) – FID is the measure of time taken between a first interaction with your web page and the web browser that is processing that interaction.
Google stipulates that the FID should be less than 100 milliseconds. So, anything longer than 300 milliseconds will therefore be classed as poor FID.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – CLS will measure the unexpected layout shifts and visual stability of any web page.
Web page elements should be stable, and not move around when they are clicked on by the user in order to comply with the latest page experience update.
A poor CLS score is classed as anything over 0.25. A web page will need to score between 0.1 to 0.24 to pass the CLS test.
What’s Google really looking to achieve?
Google’s new page experience algorithm is set to focus on the stability of each individual element of a web page together with page upload speed.
The ultimate goal being to point users to websites that deliver the best user experience.
Google is able to create a holistic picture of how a website is likely to perform by combining existing ranking factors with the new metrics update.
New additional metrics will be added to the Page Experience algorithm gradually.
No announcement surrounding a timeline for the release of these new metrics have been made by Google.
The importance of the Google Page Experience update
Did you know that 75% of people searching on Google will never click beyond the first result page?
Ranking well on Google is absolutely critical to boosting your website traffic and staying ahead of your competitors.
In the past, Google has often been accused of not releasing details of core algorithm updates.
With this particular update, website owners, developers and SEO specialists have all been given 6-months advance notice.
As Google very rarely provides advance notice of algorithm changes, this new page experience update is projected to have a significant ranking impact.
Google is currently considering introducing a Page Experience Badge to highlight websites that offer the best user experiences. This has yet to be officially confirmed.
If the Page Experience Badge does come into effect, it will become increasingly vital for your websites to rank well.
Avoid a potentially significant drop in site visitor traffic with this upcoming algorithm update by optimising your website NOW.
Optimise your website for Page Experience…
Thanks to the early announcement from Google, it is possible to utilise new tools to ensure your website is ready for the new roll out.
Tools to help you measure, monitor and optimise your website ahead of the update are already readily available.
Your Google Search Console account will have a Core Web Vitals report, which will highlight key areas of your website that needs improving.
Each website page will be given a ranking of a). ‘Good’, b). ‘Needs Improvement’ or c). ‘Poor’.
Your attention must focus therefore on optimising your website to improve user experience, by following the steps listed below:
Your Ranking Checklist For The New Update…
1). Improve Page Load Speed – Page load speed is one of the key factors which contributes to high bounce rates.
Lowering your bounce rates and improving page load speed is an absolute must to rank well in Google.
To rank well for mobile and desktop, site visitors should have improved page load speeds and better site user experience.
3 seconds or less is the optimum page load time set by Google. With pages that take less than 1 second to load, set to receive a ranking boost.
2). Reduce ‘400’ website errors – Broken links and inaccessible web page errors must be reduced to avoid higher bounce rates, poor conversions and lower search rankings.
Audit your website thoroughly and correct any issues that stop it from performing well.
3). Mobile Usability – For a URL to achieve a ‘Good’ status within the Core Web Vitals report it should not have any mobile usability errors.
4). Research Competitors – Research how your competitors are performing, how does their content compare and what are they doing differently?
Make sure that your websites are easy to navigate, with great content and give your visitors quick access to the information that they came looking for.
5). Ensure HTTPS – Your rankings are likely to suffer if your site pages are not served over the HTTPS protocol.
6). Consider Your Advertising – Google is likely to class your website as providing a ‘bad’ user experience, if you utilise advertising techniques that potentially distracts or interrupts the page experience of your site visitor.
Websites that perform best are ones that are designed to be informative, educational and entertaining rather than salesy and promotional.
There are plenty of potential variables that contribute to your websites search engine optimisation performance metrics.
Naturally, the fastest, most relevant websites, which deliver the best user experience will continue to rank well.
A well-designed website, which loads quickly will never rank well if it does not offer visitors quality, relevant content.
Is your website ready for Google’s page experience update and core web vitals?
Is your website ready to meet the new Google page experience algorithm set to launch in just a few weeks?
Improving technical aspects to meet the new Page Experience metrics may well require external support, skills and resources.
To find out which steps you need to take, CLICK HERE for your FREE page experience analysis report.
We can help your business recover from the Page Experience update in June by flagging and correcting potential issues.
We help businesses grow their online brands through data-driven marketing, technical SEO support and ROI focused marketing campaigns.
Find out more about how our digital marketing services can maximise your online performance, by contacting our experienced team today.
Excellent article and well explained too. I just need to soak in and absorb all that information now!
Thanks David. Now on to applying this for your websites!:)
Really insightful article. Easy to understand and follow – thanks Digitalhound
You’re welcome. So glad that you found it useful!