Google’s Page Experience Ranking Will Change In June

Google’s Page Experience update was originally set to roll out in May, but has now been pushed back to mid-June - and it wont take full effect on ranking until the end of August. 

What does this mean for SEO?

Essentially it means Google is updating to put more emphasis on good page experience for web users. Some of the important signals that Google’s update is planning to address are:
 

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Reports the render time of the largest image or text block visible within the viewport, relative to when the page first started loading.

First Input Delay (FID)

FID measures the time from when a user first interacts with a page (i.e. when they click a link, tap on a button, or use a custom, JavaScript-powered control) to the time when the browser is actually able to begin processing event handlers in response to that interaction.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

CLS measures the sum total of all individual layout shift scores for every unexpected layout shift that occurs during the entire lifespan of the page.  A layout shift occurs any time a visible element changes its position from one rendered frame to the next.

What does this mean for my website?

It probably means you will have to change something - or at least have a look on specific pages. In particular, you'll want to beware push-down banners. (Looking at you cookie banner!) Images in blogs are also likely culprits for negatively affecting your page experience scores if they don't act in a way that Google likes.

Some good news is that Google is purposefully rolling this out slowly so that no unexpected and unwarranted negative effect on rankings happen.

How can I tell if I need to make changes to my site?

Google has recently released a new Page Experience report in Google Search Console. This report will help you see how your suite is performing in regard to your page experience. Here’s an example from Google of what the report looks like:
 

This should be really a really helpful tool for giving your website an SEO health check. 

The report analyses your site based on the following criterea:

Core Web Vitals

The speed and stability of how the page loads for users.

Mobile usability

The site must work seamlessly for mobile users.

Security issues

Any security issues on any page will mean you can’t get a ‘good’ result for security on the test.

HTTPS usage

Your pages need to be HTTPS for you to be able to get a ‘good’ result for page experience. 

Ad Experience

Does your site use advertising techniques that are distracting, interrupting, or otherwise not conducive to a good user experience? If so, this will negatively affect your page experience score. 

You can find out more about the Page Experience report here. 

What next?

Keep an eye out for an upcoming blog where we’ll take a closer look at how we’re addressing some of these issues on our own site, as well as explaining how to fix them. 

And remember, if you need help sorting out any potential Page Experience issues on your site — or if you just need some help with SEO in general — then get in touch. Our team of digital marketers and technical SEO experts are on hand to help.