Google Page Experience: Did it Bite?

Intro

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Around Page Experience and Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) is a lively debate. I think that the new requirements should strive to meet any site. Why? Well, because this trend will be actively promoted and lobbied by Google for a long time.

About the same was with the transition to HTTPS (actually, Page Experience includes this factor) - the first HTTPS recommended, and now without HTTPS to rank high has become more difficult.

The thing is that the number of sites is growing exponentially. However, the bandwidth of Internet equipment has not grown so much. It is already difficult for Google to index such a number of sites, especially when they are terribly slow.

For the same reason, Google began to actively promote HTML5 semantic tags. Search can no longer take the time to identify meaningful areas of content because there is not enough time and power to do so. That is why you need to use semantic tags. Otherwise, there will be problems with ranking and even indexing.

Likewise Page Experience and Core Web Vitals. The new ranking factors with the help of quick and uncomplicated analysis will help to understand what sites are focused on user satisfaction and what sites are not. As a result, it will have an impact on the site`s rank in search.

Google Page Experience and Core Web Vitals: what is the impact?

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Google Page Experience is a set of signals for evaluating page quality that goes beyond informational value. The main purpose of the new ranking factor is to increase the search visibility of user-friendly sites. To make an audit of Google Page Experience, you can use:

• Google Search Console.
• Google PageSpeed Insights.
• Chrome DevTools.
• Lighthouse.
• WebPageTest.
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
• Semrush.

In fact, Google Page Experience - is the first official ranking factor, which is directly linked to behavioral signals. Google`s employee Gary Illyes has repeatedly pointed out that algorithms collect information about user interactions with the site, but it has almost no impact on the situation in SERP. In 2021, this situation changes.

Except for Core Web Vitals, Google Page Experience include:

• Mobile-friendliness - the usability of the site on mobile devices.
• Safe browsing - no malware or misleading content on the page (social engineering).
• HTTPS - SSL protocol, which provides a connection and security of using personal data on them.
• No intrusive blocks - the page should not contain advertising and other elements that make it difficult to access the main content.

Optimizers' opinions on working with Page Experience differ, but everyone is well aware that over time, search engines will increasingly shift their focus toward websites with ideal user experience. They have tools to measure behavioral signals and opportunities to amplify their value.

Core Web Vitals consists of three components: LCP, FID, and CLS.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and how to improve this parameter

This parameter reflects the speed of loading. To be convenient in use, the page LCP value should be less than 2.5 seconds after it starts loading. Roughly speaking, this is the speed of the first screen loading, or rather its largest fragment.

You can do the following things to improve LCP:

• Reduce server response time (you can use the Time to First Byte metric to measure it).
• Use a content delivery network (CDN) - for example Cloudflare.
• Implement server-side caching.
• Use rel="preconnect" for early third-party connections.
• Reduce JS blocking time and minimize JavaScript.
• Minimize CSS, delay loading of non-critical CSS, and implement critical CSS.
• Optimize images and reduce their size.
• Implement preloading of important resources.
• Reduce the size of text files.
• Use server-side rendering or pre-rendering.

First Input Delay (FID) and how to improve this parameter

This parameter reflects interactivity. To use the site comfortably, the FID value should be less than 100 ms. Roughly speaking, it's the speed of reaction to a button click on the site. How quickly everything starts to change.

You can do the following things to improve FID:

• Break up long tasks into smaller asynchronous tasks.
• Optimize readiness for interaction (e.g., using progressive code loading).
• Examine third-party code and prioritize downloads.
• Use Comlink, Workway, Workerize.
• Reduce JS execution time (defer unused JS, minimize unused polyfills).

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) and how to improve this parameter

For a page to be usable, the CLS value should be less than 0.1. CLS value is calculated by a special formula that is not very clear to anyone. But the bottom line is simple - the less something is shifted after page load, the lower this indicator will be (ideally - zero). CLS reflects visual stability.

You can do the following things to improve CLS:

• Reserve space for ads, embedded content, and iframes.
• Don't place ads close to the top of the viewing area.
• Do not insert new content above existing content.
• Use font-display attribute, Font Loading API or <link rel="preload"> for basic web fonts.

How Core Web Vitals will Change Testing & Optimization?

Core Web Vitals are based on real user metrics (RUMs). Google uses anonymous Chrome user data and makes it available in the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX). They use this data to measure the three metrics discussed above and use it to generate rankings. RUM data is also used in synthetic web performance monitoring tools.

The largest Contentful Paint is highly dependent on the state of the network and the processing power of the devices used, and there is a high probability that your site users will use devices with less power than you think. However, it's worth noting that often the actual site loading rate on a mobile device is better than testing tools.

At the same time, First Input Delay often depends on processor speed and how the device handles all the content your site sends it - whether it's images to process or elements to layout on a page.

As for Cumulative Layout Shift, it is easier to measure with testing tools because it's less susceptible to changes in the network and less dependent on hardware. However, users see different things on Web pages. For example, cookie banners and customizable content affect what content is displayed and what CLS users experience on their devices.

So, new challenges appear for site testing and optimization. There are many side factors that affect the Core Web Vitals metrics and that can't be influenced by you. Site testing and optimization are getting harder.

SERP shifts (winners/losers) - what is the impact of July`s 2021 Core Update rollout?

The July 2021 Core Update was more powerful than the June update. It took twelve days to deploy the update. Although the June update was rolled out in ten days.

The largest fluctuations were in the following thematic categories of sites:

• Online Communities
• Internet and Telecom
• Arts and Entertainment
• Games
• Sports
• News

In these categories, at the beginning of the July update SERP volatility reached 9.3-9.4 points. During the update, the volatility of the SERP increased compared to its normal performance in such thematic categories:

• Real estate - an increase of 3.7 points.
• Shopping - an increase of 3.3 points.
• Beauty & Fitness - an increase of 3.2 points.
• Science - an increase of 3 points.
• Pets & animals - an increase of 2.9 points.
• Online Communities - an increase of 2.8 points.

When comparing the June and July updates to each other, the latter was about 40% more powerful. In some thematic categories, it was even more than 60% stronger than in June ("Food & Drink" by 73%, "Jobs & Education" by 66%, "Health" and "News" by 62%).

What to change on the site to improve Page Experience?

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There are not so many ecommerce websites with perfect load speed, good content, and strong link mass. Almost all sites can change and improve something. These changes can have a positive impact on search engine rankings. I have prepared a checklist to help you quickly adapt to the Google Page Experience:

1. Check your loading speed. If the tests show that the site isn't fast enough, fix the problem. It may be what's preventing you from getting a good position in a niche.

2. Analyze audience behavior. Use third-party services to see how users interact with your content. Pay special attention to clicking and scrolling maps.

3. Pay attention to your competitors. Check out how your main competitors are doing. Pick up interesting ideas to improve the content and features of the site.

4. Implement value-added elements. Out-of-the-box tools increase loyalty, and good engagement has a positive impact on behavioral signals.

5. Deal with adaptability bugs. The site should display correctly on smartphones, tablets, and computers.

6. Switch to HTTPS. Most web hosting providers can order a free certificate Let's Encrypt with automatic re-issue. It is enough for basic data protection.

7. Avoid intrusive blocks. Eliminate ads disguised as content, switch to native push notifications, and make pop-ups as unobtrusive as possible.

Pay special attention to ads. Google has long said that it will penalize sites for blocks that interfere with reading content. For example, Chrome blocks all ads on a page if its algorithms think they are too intrusive.

What to change in the link-building strategy to stay high in search results?

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Do not fear Google Page Experience and Core Web Vitals. Content and quality backlinksremain the primary factors. Google has long penalized "links for the sake of links," so it's worth focusing on safe link-building techniques. Link building will bring results only when backlinks are placed natively and affect people's interests.

What to focus on:

• Crowd marketing. Comments from real people, attract interested users and increase the confidence of search engines in the site.
• Guest posts. Quality content on thematic resources with an active audience. Such postings show Google that the project has good visibility in the niche.
• Outreach. Links within the content, are inserted as organically as possible. Attract audiences from other resources and turn the site into a digital brand.

Conclusion: how Google Page Experience affects CRO

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Page Experience affects the quality of user interactions with your site and how successfully the site solves a user's task. By improving Page Experience and the factors that influence the score, you can raise both site`s behavioral metrics and click-through rates (CTR). Some of the most important ones you can influence with Page Experience include:

• The number of user interactions with the site (clicks, forms, etc).
• The share of "long" sessions (more than a minute).
• The share of "deep" sessions (viewing two pages or more).
• The average time on the site per session.

Improving your Page Experience isn't just about adapting to Google's updated rules. It's about caring about your users and taking your information or commercial projects to the next level.

Websites for people have always been on the cutting edge, and now they're going to benefit even more.