If you have a website, it is vital to stay up to date with the latest changes and additions to Google’s algorithms. A failure to make adjustments to your website’s SEO strategy following these algorithm updates can cause a significant drop in rankings. Google has announced the roll-out of a new page experience algorithm rescheduled for June 2021.
The page experience algorithm will have a relatively significant impact on rankings across all websites. It puts a strong emphasis on the core web vitals, which will each be given a score and combined to form a website’s final score. Let’s take a closer look at the critical core web vitals.
Core Web Vitals Components
This algorithm aims to improve the user experience by incentivizing sites to improve the components that determine page experience. The first core web vital is loading (LCP). The faster your site loads, the higher your score for the loading component will be. The interactivity component (FID) measures how long it takes for the browser to become responsive and perform the user’s click. The last core web vital component regards layout shifting (CLS), which is considered “poor” when the webpage jumps around randomly while the user is attempting to navigate. The combined score of these three components will determine your page experience score.
How to Prepare
Since we are aware of the new algorithm months before the roll-out, it is in our best interest to make necessary changes prior to the update. There are several actions you can take to prepare.
GSC Page Experience Report
Google has created this new report within Google Search Console that allows you to view the components of your page experience score. You will be able to see issues with core web vitals, mobile usability, security issues, HTTPS, and ad experience. Monitoring this report closely will allow you to gain valuable insights into your website’s page experience and what needs to be fixed.
Check Page Speed Insights
Just because it seems as though your site loads quickly does not mean the page speed is up to par for this algorithm. Google created page speed insights as a way to analyze the load speed of your site. It gives you a score on the core web vitals, LCP, FID, and CLS, which are crucial for the algorithm. This allows you to make adjustments and measure the progress of page speed as you work to improve your website.
Check Other User Experience Components
Even though this algorithm focuses on the core web vitals of a site does not mean you should neglect the other aspects of user experience. Update mobile friendliness, check for security issues, ensure you have an HTTPS certificate, and continue adding useful content for your readers.
Prepare for Algorithm Updates With Boston Web Marketing
Our job as SEO professionals is to stay up-to-date with every algorithm rollout that may affect your website. Our SEO specialists will analyze the change, set a plan of action, and tackle it effectively. Contact Boston Web Marketing at 857.526.0096 to begin building a solid SEO foundation today!