Google started using “Page Experience” as one of the signals that contribute towards website rankings from May 2021. The main reason why Google came up with this is to deliver a better experience to search engine users who access Google from different devices and browsers. If you are concerned about the rankings of your website, this is something that you shouldn’t ignore.
What exactly are Page Experience signals?
The Page Experience signals would determine the user experience and instructiveness that your website is delivering to the visitors. There are some websites that offer rich information. However, those websites will not be able to secure the best rankings, unless they strive to deliver a top-notch user experience. The user experience should be both enjoyable and helpful for all visitors, regardless of the device that they are using to access the internet.
Changes you may notice in the search result pages
We will also be able to see some changes in the search results pages along with these additional ranking signals. Google officially announced it as well. Google is using the preview and search result snippet to help the search engine users to get a better understanding of the information that a website is providing. However, Google will add some new changes to make the search results even more user-friendly for the people who use it. We can expect that to happen with the help of visual indicators.
Once this is implemented in place, you will be able to see a proper indication related to the poor page experience that websites are delivering on the search engine results. This will assist you to decide on whether to visit the website or not. One of the best things about this change is that you can refrain from visiting a website that can potentially harm you or a website that is hacked.
Should you be worried about Page Experience signals?
If you manage a website, you should be worried about Page Experience signals. They will create a major overall impact on the rankings that your website can secure in the future. However, the changes would take some time to take place. Therefore, you cannot expect to see any immediate results.
The rollout of the new feature started in May, and it would impact your website within the next few months. This provides you the chance to secure time, which is needed to introduce appropriate changes to your website and save your rankings. During this time, you will need to increase the website loading speed, optimise it for mobile devices, and deliver a better overall user experience.
Since the countdown has already started, you don’t have a lot of time to waste. You will need to start working on the changes immediately. If you believe that you cannot do that on your own, you must seek the assistance of an expert as soon as possible.
What should you do?
We will provide a quick overview of the changes that you will need to do to your website as well. Before you start working on the changes, you can generate a Google Search Console report. This will provide you a basic understanding of how your website is performing on mobile and desktop devices. Likewise, you can also use Chrome Lighthouse, Google Page Speed Insights, and Chrome UX Report to get a better understanding of how your website is performing.
Here are five steps that you can follow to make changes to the website and optimise it accordingly.
1. Measure the Core Web Vitals – You will need to get the help of the Web Dev Vitals Tool and measure the web vitals. Then you need to improve them.
2. Check mobile-friendliness – Do a mobile-friendly test and confirm that your website is fully mobile-friendly.
3. Look for security issues – You must also check and see whether there are any security issues on your website.
4. Check if you have the SSL certificate – You need to ensure that your website is having an SSL certificate.
5. Ensure that you don’t use intrusive interstitials – You need to make your website accessible for all visitors.
Final words
Now you know what should be done to retain your Google rankings. Focus on these and you will be able to survive the latest Google update.