Google Page Experience Update 2021 – Get Ready

Be at the top of your game for 2021 with Google’s new Page Experience Algorithm for an optimized user experience!

Google has recently announced an upcoming update in 2021 which should determine the accuracy of web pages according to the user experience. Now, to be alert on how to take your web pages to the next level, a good understanding of this new algorithm is key to prime yourself for 2021.  

Learn more on Google’s Page Experience Algorithm to get prepared the right way.

But first, what is Page Experience exactly?

To put it simply, Page Experience relies on different criteria, all sharing the same aim: an optimized user experience based on user-friendly and engaging web pages.

Google has already in the past launched several Page Experience factors such as mobile-friendly update, the HTTPS ranking boost, Page Speed update, Intrusive Interstitials or Safe Browsing, which are crucial to this algorithm.

Now, to make the experience more whole and refined, 3 new user-centred metrics are coming to play also known as Core Web Vitals:

The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – refers to the loading performance of web pages. This measurement takes into account the server response time before rendering on the user’s screen.

The First Input Delay (FID) – quantifies the user experience based on load responsiveness as well as interactivity. This helps measuring users’ first impression when visiting a web page.

The Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – This metric measures every layout shift and spots the unexpected ones to determine web pages visual stability.

This is not all about ranking scores, all these metrics have a different role and participate in the elaboration of a successful Page Experience.

Get prepared to optimize your user experience

Work on your websites’ speed.

If your website tends to lag, the user will most likely click out of the page. The target loading speed is of 2.5 seconds or less, as soon as it starts loading. To reach that, evaluate your current loading time to spot the elements that make your website slow down.

You can try Google’s free tool Pagespeed Insights, which will give you recommendations on how to better your website performance by running some test on it.

Don’t neglect your content

Page experience is great but don’t forget to work on your content. A relevant and informative content is key to a higher rank in Google Search. With this in mind, even if your website includes a few pages which are not really up-to-date with the Page Experience Algorithm, you can still showcase your content to maximize your website visibility!

Improve your design

You don’t want a confusing and clumsy website. That is why you need to focus on the overall feel of your website and don’t forget about important notions such as navigation experience, implementation of call-to-actions or mobile optimization. A short yet compelling content as well as clear and clean animations or icons with the right colours are necessary to increase the user interest.

Keep an eye on your competitors

Having a great website does not mean that you should not keep an eye on what is done elsewhere. Run an SEO competitor analysis to learn about your competitors and how you could outperform whether it being on web page layout, usability, keywords accuracy or traffic.

Need further help to get fully prepared for 2021? Have a look at our services and get in touch with us!