New Google Page Experience Update July/August 2021 – Have you been affected?

New Ranking Factor?

Summertime already, most people would think that Google has been quiet throughout 2021 (maybe they are finally giving us SEO’s a break post-COVID). However, this is not true.

Google has been busy beavering away in the background, designing a number of updates throughout the year – with a core update in June/July (split into 2), two spam updates happening the same month – the team at Voodoochilli have been busy keeping up with all of these updates/changes.

*FYI the original SEO tool – Moz has a detailed timeline explaining more about each update that has happened over the last couple of months.

However, these updates are “minnows” in relation to the “great white shark” that was the page experience update (also called core web vitals – among other names).

Unlike other updates, all SEO’s, in-house marketing teams, directors, founders/owners and external stakeholders knew this was coming. SEO chatter on this update started about 2 years ago – Google invested a lot in its PR, message and rhetoric around this update – they even gave in-house teams and SEO’s tools/guidance on how to fix sites affected so it was no surprise when it hit.

Was this update as “big “ as everyone thought (some people said it was EAT/Core level – some even 2012 Panda!). Did this update “come in like a wrecking ball” and dislodge the sector, did big brands with issues see rankings fall overnight – or was it all fanfare with little movement.

We delve deeper into the page experience update to answer these questions and more (also we will provide some ideas on what you can personally do if you have been/think you may have been affected by core web vitals).

Google Page Experience Update 2021

What is the page experience update?

In May 2020 Google announced the page experience update was due to happen and then announced in November that the change was going to be rolled out in 2021. Due to the update being a slow rollout they said there shouldn\’t be any huge changes in the rankings quickly. The update started rolling out on June 15th 2021 and is due to finish sometime towards the end of August. This update is different to the normal core updates as it mainly focuses on user experience and page load speed.

Why is this Google update important?

The page experience update is core to Google’s mission statement:

Google wants to provide its customers (search engine users) with the best experience, best results and make it easy to use – ease of use and accessibility is key to Google on the devices their target audience use.

Since 2014/5 – page load speed and website use has been high on its agenda, with the directive of brands to focus on mobile websites and the moving of the search index to mobile-first – Google knows that its customers use mobile to access the search engine, it also knows mobile experiences were “forgotten” and “awful”. So they focused on this area.

With EAT and other broad core algorithms, page speed, load, layout and user experience became key – this new page experience is just a continuation of this using a set of real-world, user-centred metrics called, Core Web Vitals that are aligned to the user experience (page load time, core content interactivity, stability of content) these signals are used to measure the interaction experience a user has with a webpage.

Core Web Vitals, although are on all devices, the main focus is mobile – the core objective is to make the mobile web experience better for Google’s customers.

What am I looking for? – Core Web Vitals

Even though they have recently introduced Core Web Vitals they have already looked at user experiences in previous updates such as mobile-friendliness, safe browsing, HTTP security etc. There are three key areas to keep a lookout for:

• Largest contentful paint (Loading Performance) – this means they look at the largest image or section of text visible on the page and determine when the main part has loaded on the screen. Google recommends having an LCP that happens within the first 2.5 seconds.
• First input delay (Interactivity) – this is where Google measures the time someone engages with your site to the time the browser can respond to that engagement. Anything under 100ms is classed as a good time.
• Cumulative layout shift (Visual) – this is the shifting of web page elements whilst the page is still downloading. For example, if the user tries to click on a navigation link and it moves as they do, that is a bad page experience. A score less than 0.1 is good and is recommended to ensure a positive reaction after the google update.

As a guide: Loading (LCP) needs to load within 2.5 seconds, – Interactivity (FID) needs to be under 100ms and finally, Visual Stability (CLS) needs to be less than 0.1.

How can I check my Core Web Vitals?

There are multiple tools you can use to check your Core Vitals; without getting too technical these tools all look at different “data points” – some use real-user (field) and some use potential user (lab). All over different results and a mix should be used to get a proper idea.

Two of the best tools to use though are Google Search Console and Google Page Speed Insights (both free to use and provided by Google).

Google Search Console (field data) is a good tool to use to help you see if you have been hit by the page experience update. They have not long added in a page experience report that will help you check your page experience levels and how well your URLs are performing.

The Page Experience Report on Google Search Console

This report shows you what URL currently has a good page experience as well as good Core Web Vital scores. It shows you the percentage of URLs that have impressions in Google Search on mobile. This report was created to help websites make pages that have an overall better user experience.

This percentage of URLs in the picture above have good page experience and search impressions as well as scoring well on Core Web Vitals. If you have a 0 it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s anything to worry about It could also mean that they don’t have any data against them. As long as you don’t have any bad performing URLs there shouldn\’t be an issue.

To read more about the Page Experience Report the Search Console Help website has more information about this.

Google Search Console has also added in a Core Web Vitals report which will give you more insight into how fast or slow your pages are loading.

Even though this update was anticipated to be a hard-hitting one due to the new metrics, people are still yet to see any major effects from it. However, there is still time.

Page Speed Insights

Page Speed Insights uses both lab and field data to provide a strong indication of how your webpage performs on mobile and desktop from an asset/page load perspective.

The tool has recently been updated to incorporate the new Core Web Vital metrics and gives you a score on each one (it has also been updated into Lighthouse – an automated website auditing tool located in Google Chrome developer tools).

Other useful tools from the list:

• Web page test – This allows you to test user experience, check your video speed as well as looking at in-depth metrics.
• Lighthouse – This is an automated tool that looks at improving the quality of web pages. It looks at performance, accessibility, SEO and more.
• Web vitals extension – This extension measures Core Web Vitals. It provides instant feedback on loading, interactivity and visual metrics.

What do I do with all these reports and tools showing Core Web Vitals and Page Speed?

Review check your scores, if poor – work on these areas with your SEO team/agency and developers. If you are in-house and don’t have these resources, then you can “DIY” – read, learn and fix or alternatively approach an expert SEO (link to SEO page) to guide you through the reports and work with your developers to boost your website\’s vitals.

My Core Web Vitals are poor – but I haven’t seen any drop off in ranking positions or performance – does that mean my website is safe?

This update was expected to be a big update and one of the most important hence the reason many client-side SEO’s and agencies have been talking about it since speculation started.

Even though this update was anticipated to be hard-hitting, people are still yet to see any major effects from it. However, there is still time.

Google Search Central has said “page experience won’t play its full role as part of those systems until the end of August”. Due to the gradual rollout, you shouldn’t expect to see huge changes which are reassuring for everyone.

How can I ensure my website is not affected in the future with the google page experience 2021?

Google doesn’t give away a lot of information about the updates and only gives some advice on what to consider if you happen to be impacted by them. A few ideas to help you improve your website are:

• Check Google search console and Google Analytics to keep an eye on any further changes from the update (page experience report)
• Competitor analysis – check other competitors on SERPS and see what they have improved on their website. – You can also use tools to help you check your competitors core webs (Page speed insights).
• Improve your content quality – make sure your content is authoritative. Thin spammy content will be penalised by Google.
• Core web vital scores – is the content readable, scrollable, and user friendly on desktop and mobile? as well as page speed loading times which can be checked with a mobile test tool. (Google page speed insights)

What happens next?

All of the above will give you some guidance on how you can improve your page experience as well as keeping your website prepared for any future updates.

Although there haven’t been any big changes as of yet the update hasn’t finished rolling out. The fact that Google was speaking about this update many months before it was even due to happen, plus they have spent a lot of resources (cost) developing the page experience area in Google Search Console means there are high expectations for this to be part of future core algorithm updates.

A good resource to use is Google Search Central blog these are useful if your website has been impacted by an update or if you simply want to improve it.

Even though the update is still rolling out it is always a good idea to keep on top of your site performance. This means when it comes to any future updates you’re ready for what may come your way. You will always be rewarded for a well built and performing website and user experience is a big contributing factor to that.

If you feel like you have been affected by the update don\’t hesitate to contact us at mail@voodoochilli.com and we can arrange a chat and a coffee at the Voodoochilli office.