28 Jul
Google launched its page experience algorithm update, which will see the core web vitals become ranking signals.
Google says, as page experience will be one of many factors taken into consideration when ranking web pages. Everything else we know about the page experience update remains the same as it relates to search results. See the resources at the end of this article to catch up on the latest information.
As part of the page experience update, a change is coming to Google news that will expand the usage of non-AMP content across news.google.com and the mobile apps. Google will also be removing AMP badges to indicate AMP content.
Page experience and core web vitals
Page experience is a set of signals that measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page beyond its pure information value. It includes core web vitals, which is a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page. It also includes existing Search signals: mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines.
Google has now provided details of an upcoming search ranking change that will incorporate these page experience metrics. A new signal is being introduced that Google says ‘combines Core Web Vitals with our existing signals for page experience to provide a holistic picture of the quality of a user’s experience on a web page’. These changes are being rolled out in June 2021. In addition, further page experience signals will be incorporated on a yearly basis as user expectations evolve and the ability for Google to measure more aspects increases.
What is page experience?
Google has a detailed developer document on the page experience criteria but in short, these metrics aim to understand how a user will perceive the experience of a specific web page: considerations such as whether the page loads quickly, if it’s mobile-friendly, runs on HTTPS, the presence of intrusive ads and if content jumps around as the page loads.
Page experience is made up of several existing Google search ranking factors, including the mobile-friendly update, Page Speed Update, the HTTPS ranking boost, the intrusive interstitials penalty, safe browsing penalty, while refining metrics around speed and usability. These refinements are under what Google calls Core Web Vitals.
Page experience ranking
So what’s the idea behind this? Essentially, having a good experience enables people to achieve what they want to, and a bad experience could stop someone finding the information they are seeking. Google wants to remain the go-to place for people searching for information and therefore it needs to provide the best search experience. By adding page experience into the mix with all the other signals, the aim is to make it easier for people using websites to find what they’re looking for.
Top level page metrics
The three main components of page experience are:
- How fast does the page load?
- Also, How fast does the page react to users?
- How stable is the page (do elements jump around as it loads)?
Now we can run through some of the top level metrics to decode what they mean. (The first 3 are what is referred to as the ‘core web vitals’)
Core web vitals
Core Web Vitals are the subset of Web Vitals that apply to all web pages, should be measured by all site owners, and will be surfaced across all Google tools. Each of the Core Web Vitals represents a distinct facet of the user experience, is measurable in the field, and reflects the real-world experience of a critical user-centric outcome.
- Largest contentful paint (LCP) – this metric seeks out the largest image or block of text. It measures how long it takes to load that item into the viewport. This could be a hero image or a large section of text. (Ideally this should be less than or equal to 2.5 seconds.)
- Cumulative layout shift (CLS) – this metric measures visual stability. In other words, it measures how much the content shifts as the page loads making it hard to read or view the content. (You want this to be less than or equal to 0.1.)
- First input delay (FID) – this refers to how quickly the page responds to a user (after the click of a button, for example). Less than or equal to 100ms is ideal for this one.
The following metrics are also worth bearing in mind as useful measurements of a page’s effectiveness:
- First contentful paint (FCP) – this metric measures how long it takes for the text above-the-fold to load. This is the content you see without needing to scroll. Too many fonts and large font files will affect this score. As will slow loading fonts from external resources.
- Speed index (SI) – this metric records when visual changes above-the-fold stop. That means videos and hero images all affect the speed index score.
- Time to interactive (TTI) – this metric measures how long it takes for the page to be ready for user input. Late-loading apps and tracking or analytics scripts will affect this metric.
- Total blocking time (TBT) – this metric is like TTI, but it measures the total amount of blocking time on page. This refers to the user not being able to click elements or to scroll the page.
It’s important to remember that these core web vitals are by no means the only way that your site will be judged. There are many, many factors taken into account by Google when evaluating your pages. While the emphasis here is certainly user experience, Google has said that having great content will still be the more important consideration: it will seek to rank pages with the best overall information, even if the page experience isn’t the best of the best.
Google has not said how much each factor is weighted, but they have confirmed ‘a good page experience doesn’t override having great, relevant content.’ However, if all other factors are equal, page experience could be the deciding factor for your visibility.
Search console update
Google has added a new section to Search Console called ‘Core Web Vitals’ which reports on how your site performs against these new ‘Page Experience’ metrics. This report will tell you where you need to improve and how to implement those improvements.
Google has updated its tools such as Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights to enable website owners to better measure their own performance and improve page experience for their visitors. Our piece on website speed audits gives a good overview of the different tools you can use, plus their benefits and limitations in terms of assessing your site.
How to prepare for core web vitals (not all applicable for Shopify stores)
1. Largest contentful paint (LCP)
Potential Issue: Slow server response times
Solutions
a) Cache assets – if your HTML is static, caching it can prevent it being recreated when it doesn’t need to be, reducing resource usage.
b) Route users to a CDN – a content delivery network uses servers in many locations around the world, which removes the problem of users experiencing a slower site due to being far away from a single server.
Potential Issue: Slow resource load times
Solutions
a) Optimise and compress your images using tinypng – it reduces the size of the files without sacrificing quality, so they load more quickly but still look good.
b) Use an image CDN – this will decrease image payload, deliver images tailored to each device requesting it, and send images from the edge of the network.
Potential Issue: Client-side rendering
Solutions
a) Minify your JavaScript and defer unused JavaScript
b) Utilise server-side rendering if this is possible
Potential Issue: JavaScript and CSS
Solutions
a) Minify your CSS – CSS files often contain characters to make it easier to read but which aren’t needed for the browser. Minifying them removes them and clears it up so it will improve the time needed to render the page.
b) Download and serve the minimal amount of necessary JavaScript to users. Reducing the amount of blocking JavaScript means a faster render and therefore a better LCP.
2. Cumulative layout shift (CLS)
Potential Issue: Unexpected layout shifts
Solutions
a) Include size attributes on assets like video and images, so the browser allocated the appropriate amount of space for the object before it loads.
b) Ensure dynamically injected content is only inserted below existing content so it doesn’t trigger unexpected layout shifts.
3. First input delay (FID)
Potential Issue: Browser not responding quickly to user (probably as it is still executing JavaScript)
Solutions
a) Break up long-running code into smaller tasks. Long tasks leave the page unresponsive while it deals with the tasks. Splitting these up into more manageable chunks can help reduce input delay.
b) Reduce JavaScript execution time further by deferring unused JS. If the browser doesn’t need the code to render the page, defer it – this will mean the page is ready for user interaction more quickly.
Combining new metrics with existing ranking factors
The launch of Web Vitals was noteworthy on its own, but Google took it up a notch. Google is going to use these new metrics, combined with existing experience ranking factors, to help with ranking pages. Keep in mind, Google uses an unknown number of factors to judge sites and rank them. Some factors weigh a lot, but most have a smaller impact. Combined, however, they tell the story of a website.
The new Web Vitals join several existing factors to make up the page experience ranking factors:
- Mobile-friendliness: is your site optimized for mobile?
- HTTPS: is your site using a secure connection?
- Interstitial use: does your site stay away from nasty pop-ups?
- Safe browsing: is your site harmless for visitors?
These are now joined by real-world, user-centered metrics like the LCP, FID and CLS mentioned earlier. Combined, these factors take into account everything a user experiences on a website to try to come up with a holistic picture of the performance of your site, as Google likes to say.
Of course, this is just another way for Google to get a sense of how good your site is and it might be easy to overstate the importance of this particular update. It’s still going to be impossible to rank a site with a great user experience but crappy content.
While the quality of your content still reigns supreme in getting good rankings, the performance and perceived experience users have now also come into play. With these metrics, Google has found a way to get a whole lot of insights that look at your site from all angles.
Page experience fully rolled out in August 2021
Google has often been accused of not communicating with SEOs and site owners. In the past, we have seen many core algorithm updates happen without a word from a Googler. These days, however, Google appears more upfront than ever. Google has kept us in the loop regarding this algorithm update. The update is finally rolling out gradually and should be done at the end of August 2021.
There are loads of new tools to come to grips with how these metrics function and how you can improve your site using these insights. Also, Google put out a lot of new documentation for you to sift through. And you can start right now.
The page experience update is rolling out gradually right now and if all goes according to plan, is expected to finish rolling out in August 2021.
No more AMP requirements for top stories
You can find another interesting tidbit regarding the page experience update. Google will no longer require AMP for getting your news pages in the Top Stories section. Now, any well-built, Google News-validated site can aim for that top spot. Page experience will become a ranking factor for Top Stories, so your site better be good.
Conclusion
In the past, optimizing your site for user experience and speed was a bit difficult. You never had excellent insights into what makes a site fast and what makes one feel fast. Over the years, Google saw the need for good metrics and heard the cries of users in need of usable, safe, and fast sites.
By announcing these metrics and by announcing them as ranking factors, Google makes page experience measurable and deems it helpful enough to judge sites by. Remember, the update is already rolling out, but you should work on your site performance. The tools are there, so you can start testing and improving.