Google continually makes updates to its search algorithm to rank the relevant pages that will be most useful to the users in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). If you fail to keep a track of these updates, you may lose your rankings quickly. One such ranking factor that has now gained immense importance is called page experience. Let us check out what page experience is and how it may impact your search rankings.
What is page experience?
“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, both on mobile and desktop devices.”
In simpler terms, it can be thought of as a metric for measuring the navigation experience and interaction of users on a web page. This means, if you can optimize your web pages in a way that makes it easier for users to navigate and interact with your site, you can rank higher on the relevant keywords.
It is important to note that page experience is not the same as user experience. It is a subset of user experience. It’s focused on the technical aspects that influence user experience. The key signals include core web vitals, interactivity, web visual stability, mobile friendliness of the page. All these signals are in the control of the web developer team building the website and directly affect the user experience.
Why Page Experience is important?
According to Google, “Google still seeks to rank pages with the best information overall, even if the page experience is subpar. However, in cases where there are many pages that may be similar in relevance, page experience can be much more important for visibility in Search.” It should matter not only because it can impact your rankings but also because of its enormous impact on the overall customer experience.
Page experience signals
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are a set of factors that Google considers important in a web page’s overall user experience. These are made up of three specific user interaction and page speed measurements:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): It essentially refers to the time it takes to load the web page’s main content
First Input Delay (FID): It measures the time (in milliseconds) from when a user first interacts with your site (presses a button or clicks a link) to when the browner responds to the interaction
Cumulative layout shift (CLS): It is a user-centric metric for measuring visual stability. It quantifies how often users experience unexpected layout shifts. A low CLS indicates that the page is delightful.
Mobile friendliness
It determines the website’s Google readability and usability on mobile devices.
HTTPS
It determines a website’s security status. Google favors websites that use the HTTPs protocol to protect its users from hackers targeting sensitive information.
Intrusive Interstitials
It is a form of intrusive marketing. In 2017, Google rolled out an algorithm change, which penalized websites that used intrusive interstitials when users tried to access the websites on mobile devices.
Elvin Web Marketing LLC builds websites with user experience in mind. We’re an SEO company that builds websites that are SEO friendly out of the box.