Whenever Google updates its algorithm, the marketing world updates with it. Find out what kind of an impact the latest changes will have on your business.

Google’s Page Experience update has been a major topic of conversation ever since its announcement in May 2020. Now that the update has been rolled out, many are still unsure what it means or how it will impact their businesses.

The fact is that Google algorithm updates are known to shake up industries, especially when it comes to marketing. And with most campaigns depending on the search engine giant, it’s no wonder that everyone’s looking in Google’s direction with expectations and, in some cases, a bit of anxiety.

Every online marketer should understand the consequences of these algorithm updates. After all, having a firm grasp of Google’s search engine, page rankings, and other aspects has always been crucial when it came to reaching wider audiences.

The circumstances are no different with the Page Experience update.

In this article, we’ll examine what the latest update is, as well as what it means for your brand. Finally, we’ll look at specific methods you can use to optimise your campaign to be as efficient as possible in the new environment.

What Is the Page Experience Update?

The crucial aspect that the Page Experience update introduced was a particular set of page metrics. These are called Core Web Vitals, and it measures user interaction within your site. Google produced this update and the new metrics with the clear goal of enhancing user experience while browsing the internet.

Core Web Vitals include three new metrics that will play a significant role in page rankings. These were added to the initial three, which are still relevant.

The older metrics monitor if a website is secured by HTTPS, optimised for mobile devices, and whether it has intrusive ads. Meanwhile, the latest metrics focus on loading speeds, interactivity, and stability.

Here’s a brief breakdown of these new parameters:

Loading experience refers to the period in which a website’s most relevant content loads. This metric is known as ‘Largest Contentful Paint’ or LCP. Websites with an LCP of 2.5 seconds or less are considered well-optimised.

Interactivity is the metric that shows a page’s response time from the first user input. The optimal ‘First Input Delay’ or FID shouldn’t surpass 100 milliseconds. However, this parameter primarily concerns pages set up explicitly for user input, such as login or sign-up pages.

Virtual stability expresses how stable a website is once it fully loads. The measurement unit for this metric is ‘Cumulative Layout Shift’ or CLS, with the optimal score set to under 0.1.

With the essential features explained, we’ll now look at how the new metric set could impact your brand.

What This Means for Your Brand (And How the Update Might Impact You)

Since Google grew into the marketing juggernaut that it is today, some search engine metrics became more important than others. The same applies to the ones introduced in the latest update.

Although the Page Experience update sends a clear signal that Google’s shifting its focus even more towards user experience, the core rules of the marketing game haven’t changed.

The most important aspect regarding page rankings is still a website’s relevance of information. In fact, this can be considered a vital ranking factor. While introducing user experience in the mix is a welcome change, it currently doesn’t hold the same weight.

The user experience, which is considered a minor factor, will be the aspect that decides which of two similar sites gets ranked higher. Assuming all other elements are the same, the website that’s more optimised for user experience will fare better.

Depending on your current ranking situation, these new metrics could either have a significant or negligible impact on your brand.

If you’ve made all of the necessary changes to make your site relevant and informative in accordance with best practices of SEO, the update might not make much of a difference. However, if you’re amongst strong competition, further optimisation could give you the edge.

How to Optimise Your Website for the New Metrics

The first step towards optimising your website to meet the new standards is to use Google’s web.dev website. The company rolled out this site as a measurement tool for the newly introduced parameters. It will provide all of the information you need to determine if your website needs adjustments.

Should further optimisation be necessary, here are some straightforward tips for improving your metrics:

1) To reduce your loading experience LCP score, try to improve your website’s speed. You can do this through image and video optimisation, finding a reliable hosting solution, and properly handling JavaScript and CSS files.

2) If you need to lower the interactivity FID score, check your website for JavaScript issues. Making your pages less reliant on this resource could improve this metric, but you’ll likely need the help of a developer to make the appropriate changes.

3) When it comes to a high virtual stability CLS score, determining its cause is challenging. Potential reasons for pages appearing unstable range from poor computer or internet performance to image dimensions or font rendering issues.

Meeting the Changes

Regardless of their initial impact, Google’s updates have always been a good indicator of the future direction of marketing. Such is the case with the Page Experience update.

Even without this update influencing page rankings, user experience is a crucial factor in online marketing campaigns. And if you ensure your website performs well in that regard, both your audience and the algorithm should be satisfied with the results.

When it comes to rankings, you might find that every change for the better matters in today’s competitive market.

Are you looking for ways to improve your marketing efforts? If so, we’re here to help.

Feel free to contact GMS today and schedule a free consult to get started!