Google sets the tone for everything that happens on the web. If a business wants their webpage to rank, they need to keep up with Google’s updates.
For example, in 2012 people were annoyed by their searches frequently directing them to spammy link farms that held no value to them. Google put an end to this with their Penguin update. Companies that relied on organic and transparent link building services thrived, while the ones using link farms disappeared from the search results. And the web was certainly a better place because of it.
Google’s massive 2021 Page Experience Update is their next step forward in creating a better searching experience for everyone. How will they do it? By rewarding the websites that offer the best user experiences and the ones that avoid these popular user problems.
Slow websites
5G towers may not be everywhere yet, but there is no doubt that our mobiles are getting faster and users are demanding faster load speeds.
Companies have always been told that site speed is a major ranking signal for Google. There has been a general understanding that faster is always better. However, the new Core Web Vitals help marketers and site builders understand exactly how fast they need to be.
Site speed will now be measured by 3 key metrics that can help prevent user annoyances:
Users hate pages that get stuck loading at 75%: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes a page to completely load. A page now needs to fully load in 2.5 seconds.
Users hate clicking on something and waiting for the site to respond: First Input Delay (FID) measures how quickly a page’s buttons and links respond to a click. A page needs to respond in 100 milliseconds.
Users hate clicking on the wrong thing because the site shifted at the last second: Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures how long it takes for the elements on the page to stop moving during the loading process. The target score is 0.1.
You can use tools like Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights, CrUX, or Chrome DevTools to find the problems that could be slowing you down.
Intrusive Interstitial ads
Interstitial ads can be a great marketing tool that can help a company gather email addresses or promote a new offering. However, entire page-consuming-ads that bludgeon the visitor are annoying and keep users from being able to access what they actually came for.
The Page Experience update will target these intrusive interstitials. Interstitials are still allowed, as long as they follow Google’s guidelines.
Bad mobile sites
Over 60% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices and mobile users have zero patience for a bad mobile site. In 2021, there is absolutely no chance a user will pinch or zoom to access a page’s content. They will simply hit the Back button to find a better site. They will also leave if they find the buttons or links are too close together.
Mobile-first indexing is now the norm for the entire web. This means that businesses need to ensure that their mobile site is actually better than their desktop site.
When will these problems start to impact your rankings? They likely already are. The Page Experience update goes live in June and it’s in a company’s best interest to fix these issues right away.
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