While there are several updates that Google is rolling out in 2021, Google’s Page Experience update is one of the heftiest. With the potential to impact everyone’s rankings, it’s important to understand what Google’s Page Experience is and how you can prepare for it. If your rankings have recently been affected, or you simply want to prepare yourself for any possible future updates, here’s your guide to understanding Google’s Page Experience update.
What Is Google Page Experience?
Google’s Page Experience is a Google update released in June 2021. The goal of this update is to capture how an individual user “feels” while interacting with a web page. This feeling is captured as Google analyzes various aspects of the site, namely, its Core Web Vitals.
Core Web Vitals are not a new concept, but Page Experience gives them a more solid framework within which they can operate. CWVs is made up of several factors including:
- Largest Contentful Paint which measures loading performance
- First Input Delay which measures interactivity
- Cumulative Layout Shift which measures visual stability
While Google Page Experience incorporates other attributes such as:
- Mobile-friendliness
- Safe browsing
- HTTPS
- Intrusive interstitial guidelines
As well as a few others. All of these features work together to give Google a better idea of how users feel when interacting with your website. In turn, these features can impact your rankings in the SERP. If you’re worried about your current ranking, there are several tools you can utilize to measure and monitor your current CWVs.
It should also be noted that these recent changes have allowed non-AMP content to become eligible and rank in the “Top Stories” section featured on mobile devices. Google has announced that any page that meets their Google news content policies is eligible for listing, but pages with the highest “page experience” will be given priority, increasing its importance even more.
How To Optimize Your Google Page Experience
If your rankings took a big hit from the Google Page Experience update, don’t worry, you’re not alone. As multiple Google updates unrolled over the last few months, rankings everywhere have gone up and done, with seemingly no reason.
While we seem to be out of the worst of the updates, some rankings are still far lower than they were. Thankfully, if you’re rankings are down there are a few ways you can optimize your website for Core Web Vitals that should help bring your online presence back up.
Google offered several insights on how to deal with their update, including:
- Learning to utilize tools that measure and report CWVs such as those that measure LCP, FID, and CLS
- Making sure that your web pages are mobile-friendly
- Seeing if your website has safe-browsing issues
- Securing your site’s connection including making sure your site with HTTPS
- Making sure you’re not using interstitials to reduce content availability
While there is a lot you can do to optimize your website for Google Page Experience, you don’t have to do it alone. Consider reaching out to a digital marketing agency for help when optimizing your site.
When it comes to your online presence, it may be the difference between the success and failure of your business. You can’t afford to not be seen. Don’t take the chance, contact a digital marketing agency today and get your website ranking where it should be!
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