Beginning in mid-June of 2021, Google will begin slowly rolling out a new ranking system that has been updated to reflect new user experience standards. As they have outlined on their Google Search Central Blog, there is now a new emphasis on three specific areas of the newly created Core Web Vitals: loading, interactivity, and visual stability.
Page Experience
One of the main metric criteria for Google is the page experience of the user, but how does it affect the page ranking? As a website metric page experience includes mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing and HTTPS, all changes that Google has already rolled out in previous updates. Introduced with the new update, Core Web Vitals are a set of real-world, user-centric metrics that measure different aspects of the user experience. Things such as webpage load times, interactivity, and stability of content as it loads will now be taken under consideration by Google when creating rankings.
Why the Change?
The rationale for the change is as Google writes on their blog, “We believe user engagement will improve as experiences on the web get better — and that by incorporating these new signals into Search, we’ll help make the web better for everyone.” Their goal for sharing the page experience updates is to help support web creators, developers and businesses improve how they deliver better user experiences. However, page experience should not be the only focus for websites. Google writes that as important as page experience might be, they still work to rank pages that have the best information available, even if the overall user experience of the page is subpar. A good page experience does not override having great and accessible page content.
When Does the Update Happen?
The original announcement for the Core Web Vitals was May 2020 so there has been some time for website owners to update their sites. As Google has stated, page experience will not play its full role in the ranking system until August 2021. They write, “You can think of it as if you’re adding a flavoring to a food you’re preparing. Rather than add the flavor all at once into the mix, we’ll be slowly adding it all over this time period.” So there is still time to make adjustments to your page. Are you not too sure how to edit your pages to meet Google’s new standards? Our team at iNNOV8 can help!
How iNNOV8 Can Help
From search engine optimization (SEO), HTTPS security, site loading times, to mobile-friendly design and writing page content, our team at iNNOV8 can help increase your user page experience and Google ranking. You can schedule a free consultation on our website!
