Over time, Google’s algorithm has adapted and changed, as has the world wide web. These algorithm changes are meant to provide Google users the best search experience by ranking websites with quality content, a great user experience and secure browsing, at the top of search results. 

Starting in mid-June, Google will start rolling out the page experience update as part of its ranking systems. 

What does this mean for website owners and your existing search engine optimization strategy? Read on to learn more about the update, and how you can prepare your website for success. 

What the update includes

The page experience update will use page ranking signals called Core Web Vitals to measure how webpages perform. These Core Web Vitals will measure how people experience your web pages based on three primary metrics:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

As Google puts it, Largest Contentful Paint “marks the point in the page load timeline when the page’s main content has likely loaded—a fast LCP helps reassure the user that the page is useful.“

In simple terms, LCP measures the time it takes for the main visual elements of your webpage to load. For example, images, videos and background images are all elements that could be considered a webpage’s largest contentful paint. 

Imagine going to a website and waiting for the main image or video to load. The seconds start ticking by, and you’re growing more and more impatient. In today’s fast-paced world, people expect websites to load faster than ever before. Google’s research shows that the probability of bounce increases 32% as page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds.

How to improve LCP

To improve your website’s LCP score, it’s important to design your website with website speed in mind. This means optimizing your images for speed by using the right size and file types.

First Input Delay (FID)

As Google puts it, “The First Input Delay (FID) metric helps measure your user’s first impression of your site’s interactivity and responsiveness.“

FID measures how fast interactive elements work on your website. For example, when someone comes to your website and they click a link, tap on a button or use a custom, JavaScript-powered control, chances are, they want the website to respond to that action in a timely matter. Nearly everyone has had the experience of going to a website, clicking on a link and waiting for what feels like forever for that link to load. Websites that experience this kind of delay don’t provide a good user experience and leave people feeling frustrated. 

How to improve FID

There are many things developers can do to improve FID score, including reducing the impact of third-party scripts on your website.  

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

As Google puts it, “Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is an important, user-centric metric for measuring visual stability because it helps quantify how often users experience unexpected layout shifts—a low CLS helps ensure that the page is delightful.”

Imagine you are reading an article or blog post on a website, and are about halfway through when the page suddenly jumps and you lose your spot. These types of layout shifts are detrimental to user experience and can even lead to accidental button pushes and purchases!

How to improve CLS

To improve your website’s CLS, Google recommends including size attributes on your images and video elements, being mindful with your content, never inserting content above existing content and optimizing any animations on your website so that they don’t trigger layout changes. 

Get ready for the upcoming page experience update

So, how can you prepare your website for the upcoming Google algorithm change? 

Before you try improving your Core Web Vital metrics, it’s important to look at the website platform you’re using. If your website isn’t on HTTPS, if it’s unresponsive or if it’s not mobile-friendly, it’s time for an upgrade. Moving to a responsive website platform, like Websites 360® should be the first task you tackle to start improving your appearance in search results. 

Then, make sure your website is verified in Google Search Console. This is where you’ll be able to monitor your page experience and measure how well your pages are performing right now. 

If your website is showing many errors or poor Core Web Vitals, work with your development team to address the issues. This may include optimizing your website images, re-designing pages with layout shifts or decreasing third-party scripts to improve load time. 

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