The value of search engine optimization for modern business is huge. SEO makes businesses visible on the web, drives organic traffic, and helps gain new customers and get ahead of the competition. Besides, it helps build trust and showcase your authoritativeness to prospects and existing customers. However, it brings all these perks only if you keep up with the trends and changes that occur in the world of SEO.
Search engine optimization is an ever-changing field. Google and other engines regularly hone their algorithms to provide more value to users and ensure their satisfaction. And businesses must stay updated on these changes to stay on top of search engine results pages (SERPs).
Speaking about changes, one of the biggest recent ones is Google’s page experience update. Now that it’s finally here it will change the way Google ranks your website. And we are here to help you figure out how it works! Read on to learn what this change is all about and how it’s going to affect your SEO efforts.
What Is Google’s Page Experience Update?
Page experience is a relatively new ranking factor introduced by Google. The update has just rolled out in August 2021 for mobile and in March 2022 for desktop.
According to Google, its ranking systems have always looked to reward (aka place higher in SERPs) sites that offer an impeccable UX. However, previously, the search engine didn’t have a specific set of metrics to measure this. And that’s exactly what this update brings to the table.
Designed specifically to measure the page experience that every site delivers, this Google update pulled together several most crucial performance indicators and user experience signals and made them a part of its ranking algorithm.
What Are the Factors That Google Considers When Evaluating Page Experience?
Previously, the primary ranking factors that marketers focused on included backlinks, keywords, content quality, etc. And they still matter. These could be easily tracked and improved using specialized SEO tools. You can quickly discover a variety of software options you need for these using Top SEO Tools & Software. There you will discover the most trending tools and will be able to find the ones that suit your needs.
Now, apart from the habitual factors mentioned above, Google’s page experience update introduces new facets for ranking your site higher – Core Web Vitals. This is a new set of ranking signals related to on-page functionality. There are three factors here:
- Largest contentful paint (LCP) – Determines page loading speed, which should aim for 2.5 seconds or less.
- First input delay (FID) – Determines page interactivity, such as the time needed for buttons to become clickable, which should aim for 100 milliseconds.
- Cumulative layout shift (CLS) – Determines visual stability, such as the absence of text shifting. The golden standard for this factor is 0.1.
Additionally, there are a few extra factors that Google also takes into account after the update:
- HTTPS – To rank higher, all websites must be served over secure HTTPS protocols. Sites that continue to stick to unsecured HTTP will be penalized.
- Safe browsing – Websites must not contain any malicious or intentionally deceptive content.
- Intrusive interstitials and dialog – To make content more accessible, sites must avoid things like broken widgets or intrusive pop-ups, ads, etc.
- Mobile-friendliness – Given that 58.33% of the total web traffic comes from mobile devices, mobile-friendliness becomes mandatory.
The Impact of the Page Experience Update on SEO
Now that you know more about the important recent Google update and the factors it considers, let’s talk about SEO.
Clearly, just like any innovation introduced by Google, this one will affect the way we approach search engine optimization. Below are the top 3 ways it will affect SEO.
Increased Importance of Page Experience
Google’s page experience update is a crucial change to the search engine’s algorithm. Respectively, it will likely pose a significant change to SEO.
Previously, Google primarily focused on the content websites delivered to users. Due to this reason, there was a big focus on quality, originality, readability, and keywords – all these factors helped increase rankings in SERPs.
Now, after the offered innovations, the overall UX also becomes crucial. Thus, things like mobile friendliness, loading speed, security, and others will become integral elements of optimization.
Change of Focus to User Intent
Previously, the primary goal of SEO specialists was to optimize content for specific keywords and, thus, get higher in SERPs for relevant user queries. That is, engines use keywords to identify what content matches every user’s intent. But this is going to change as well.
Since the recent Google update prioritizes user experience, hitting right into users’ intent will become more important than simply targeting relevant keywords. Now, the core goal will be to deliver content perfectly tailored to what your target audience is looking for. This approach will help you boost the overall user experience and satisfaction. And only this way you will be able to secure high rankings for your site.
Increased Importance of Long-Form Content
Finally, the introduced changes will likely affect the type of content that ranks high. Not so long ago, the focus was made on short-form pieces, such as blog posts and articles. Such small posts allow you to target the needed keywords. However, it doesn’t provide enough space for answering the user intent to the fullest.
Now that the focus is made on experience, it becomes much more important to provide well-researched, in-depth content that brings real value. That is, long-form content, such as research papers, white papers, and similar, will possibly replace short-form. We expect such content to become a new big thing in SEO.
Conclusion
Search engines have always strived to help users find the right information faster and easier. To do this, they regularly improve their algorithms and seek new ways to improve UX. So every released innovation brings something new to the table.
This is especially true for Google’s updates. Being the leading search engine in the world, Google dictates its own rules for search engine optimization. So whenever it changes its system, this affects the way we do SEO.
Google’s page experience update has introduced a significant change to the engine’s search algorithm. Respectively, it will likely have a major impact on SEO.
After reading this article, you will know everything about Google’s latest innovation and what’s in it. By knowing and understanding the new ranking factors, you should be able to fine-tune your optimization strategy for success. So don’t lose any more time. Use the knowledge from this guide to boost your SEO strategy and rank high in SERPs!
