Google Update: Page Experience and Core Web Vitals

Posted: 05/19/21

Is Your Website Ready?

Another big algorithm update is going to hit your website’s search engine rankings this summer – is your site ready?

Starting in June, Google is rolling out its Page Experience update, concentrating on three Core Web Vitals metrics for mobile users. The user page experience, based on these metrics and others, will determine your ranking in mobile search results. If your site is like the majority of PriMedia-managed sites, 50 percent of your web traffic comes from mobile users.

Let’s look at the Core Web Vitals and other metrics that will make up your new page experience results.

Largest Contentful Paint or LCP measures the “perceived load speed” – by assessing the time it takes for the largest element on the page to load. A fast LCP reassures the user that the page will be useful.

First Input Delay or FID measures load responsiveness - the time between the user clicking a button or tapping a link and when the browser starts processing that interaction.

Cumulative Layout Shift or CLS measures the visual stability of the site – if graphics, text or links and buttons shift during the lifetime of the page. These issues occur as the resources are being loaded, or images or third-party content are added to the page above existing content.

Mobile Usability – this is a separate metric from the Core Web Vitals, and ensures that the site is designed to be accessed from mobile devices.

Security and HTTPS – these are two separate metrics ensuring that your site is safe for users confirming that there are no reported security issues and your site uses HTTPS rather than HTTP.

To deliver a consistently satisfactory page experience, your may need to modify image sizes, page load event timing, and other elements. Users won’t notice a visual change, but will enjoy a faster, more responsive visit.

PriMedia is already reviewing client sites serviced under our Web Presence Optimization program (WPO) and making any necessary Core Web Vitals adjustments.

Offering a better page experience is an extension of your exceptional customer service. If you would like PriMedia to review your company’s website to see if it’s ready for the page experience update, give us a call or contact us.