Recently, Google’s Page Experience update has finished rolling out. And it was met with a mostly muted response.
But the update matters, and is important for a number of reasons.
First of all, here are the four page metrics that encompass Google’s Page Experience:
- Core Web Vitals
- Mobile-friendliness
- HTTPS
- No intrusive interstitials (a fancy word that essentially means things that loads between pages)
Core Web Vitals seem to appear at the forefront of Google’s push to drive the development of better user experiences by making website owners and managers focus on the digital journey.
Throughout 2021, there have been multiple updates to reflect fairer and more accurate results. And in turn, these updates have reflected better on websites in general, helping to improve Core Web Vitals scores for many if not most sites.
Under-the-radar rollout
Despite its recent update flying low, Google’s Page Experience tweaks are important to consider and weigh with relevance when determining the importance of user experience.
Far from being minimal in their influence, Page Experience factors play their part in the overall judgement of a website.
In fact, Google Search Central says of the Page Experience that: “In cases where there are many pages that may be similar in relevance, page experience can be much more important for visibility in Search.”
More than a tiebreaker
Soon after Core Web Vitals were released, there was a lot of distrust around their role – many assumed their role would be small and insignificant. It’s likely that these people judged from previous impacts of Google’s metrics, such as HTTPS and mobile friendliness.
But that is simply not the case.
Google has even stated that its Page Experience metrics act as more than just tie-breakers for two similar content-filled pages.
With specific mention of Core Web Vitals, Google’s very own John Mueller had this to say: “It is a ranking factor, and it’s more than a tie-breaker, but it also doesn’t replace relevance. Depending on the sites you work on, you might notice it more, or you might notice it less.
“As an SEO, a part of your role is to take all of the possible optimizations and figure out which ones are worth spending time on.”
When it comes to Page Experience metrics, they are different in that Google is transparent about what these are and even provide tips on how to improve them.
PS: ArganoUV is one of the world’s leading Core Web Vitals consultancies. Contact us to see how we can work together.
