<q>We’ll begin using page experience as part of our desktop ranking systems beginning in February 2022. The rollout will be complete by the end of March 2022</q>
Google has confirmed that the Google page experience update would be rolling out to desktop in February 2022 and would slowly roll out until end of March 2022. This is the biggest algorithm update as at February 2022.
Google first gave notice in November 2021 that this update was coming and that it would affect desktop searches. Now, Google had previously released a big update back in September 2021 and this was mainly for mobile searches. There are some key differences to note with this new update.
Google page experience rolling out for desktop
The Google page experience update for desktop is a logical continuation of the update they released back in September 2021. Google rolled out the mobile page experience update which took metrics such as LCF, FID, and CLS (Core Web Vitals) as ranking factors to rank up or down certain websites.
there is not much difference for the Google page experience for desktop. Of course, mobile-friendliness which is a ranking factor for mobiles will not apply to the desktop page experience.
How does the Google page experience affect your website?
These ranking metrics were not being factored in before and now that they are, it means that if your website does not pass these benchmarking tests, it is most likely to lose its rankings versus other websites which pass them.
If your digital marketing agency has already worked on your website’s performance for the mobile page experience, it is most likely that your desktop version will also pass the test and either not see any change or an increase in ranking.
In case you have a different version of your website for mobile and desktop on separate URLs, the desktop signal is based on the desktop URL that the desktop users see.
Google search console
Google search console has a new area that regroups information evaluating page Experience criteria on the desktop versions of webpages. You can head over to this section when the update has finished rolling out to find out how the recent page experience updates have impacted your website discoverability and traffic.
Just like with the September 2021 update, you should not jump to conclusions too early and try to fix things. Wait for the update to be completely rolled out before making any analysis and taking action.
Improving your Core Web Vitals for a better Google page experience
If your website has a low core web vitals score, if you notice a decrease in ranking or traffic, you can head over to GTmetrix.com and test your website. The free version will allow you to get your rating and a list of errors.
To improve your chances of appearing in the organic search results, you will need to keep an eye on your core web vitals metrics. These basically indicate how fast and efficiently a page loads. Some of the elements affecting these metrics are:
- Cumulative layout shifts CLS ( or the visual stability)
- The first input delay FID (The FID measures the time for user input of the time for user interaction which is the wait time before interacting with the page)
- Largest contentful paint LCP (The time it takes to load the largest element of your page)
One way to measure your core web vitals and page speed is to use the Google pagespeed insights.
Most of these errors are technical and require the intervention of a web developer. If you need help to improve your website and rank on Google, get in touch with our digital marketing team or send us an email at hello@arnaud-brunel.com.
We can help!
