Earlier on this year, Google announced that their new ranking factor – the Page Experience signal – would be rolling out at some point next year. As part of this announcement, they revealed that rather than being a totally new signal, it would be a combination of multiple smaller signals (which are already being used as ranking factors) into one larger signal.
They also explained that they would give site owners six months’ notice before rolling out the new signal, to give us time to get ready – which they still haven’t done – so we are probably looking at April or May 2021 at a minimum.
An object-oriented approach
Google is using an object-oriented approach for this new signal, meaning each factor that is part of the new signal can be viewed as its own object. These individual objects will each be scored, and these scores will be combined to form the final Page Experience score.
What smaller signals are part of the new Page Experience signal?
As shown in the diagram below, there are five main signals that make up the new Page Experience signal and they are:
- Core Web Vitals – a new signal which includes; Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) which measures loading performance, First Input Delay (FID) which measures interactivity, and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) which measures visual stability
- Mobile-Friendly – an existing ranking signal
- Safe Browsing – an existing ranking signal that impacts pages visually in Search
- HTTPS – an existing ranking signal related to the security of the site
- Mobile Pop-Up Algorithm – an existing ranking signal covering intrusive interstitials
Focus on user experience
User experience is really important to Google, and a lot of its recent algorithm changes have been focused on that. For example, Google’s focus on mobile has meant that having pages that are mobile-friendly is more important than ever, websites need to avoid using pop-ups and interstitials which can inhibit user experience on mobile devices, user information should be kept safe through a secure site, and so on.
Google is already taking these factors into account when it comes to user experience, but they have never been wrapped up into one big signal before now.
How does this impact us and our clients?
Our SEO team has been delving into this new signal to see if we can discover the weighting of each object, but Google is being very secretive as usual. What this means, however, is that Google can adjust scoring across the factors, add or refine factors, and remove factors at will! In fact, Google themselves have said that they will update the Page Experience signal on an annual basis – they do like to keep us on our toes!
As we have said above, Google has told us it will give us six months’ notice before it rolls out this new signal – and we haven’t had that yet. However, in the meantime, we are starting to work on the sub-signals that are part of this larger signal, ensuring our clients’ websites are in good shape from a ranking perspective for whenever Google decides to roll this out.
If you would like us to help you get your website in shape, so it stays on top of Google’s many algorithm changes, please contact us today. You can call us on 01625 238 770 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
Google’s new Page Experience signal: What do you need to know?
Digital SEO Analytics / Dec 21, 2020
Earlier on this year, Google announced that their new ranking factor – the Page Experience signal – would be rolling out at some point next year. As part of this announcement, they revealed that rather than being a totally new signal, it would be a combination of multiple smaller signals (which are already being used as ranking factors) into one larger signal.
They also explained that they would give site owners six months’ notice before rolling out the new signal, to give us time to get ready – which they still haven’t done – so we are probably looking at April or May 2021 at a minimum.
An object-oriented approach
Google is using an object-oriented approach for this new signal, meaning each factor that is part of the new signal can be viewed as its own object. These individual objects will each be scored, and these scores will be combined to form the final Page Experience score.
What smaller signals are part of the new Page Experience signal?
As shown in the diagram below, there are five main signals that make up the new Page Experience signal and they are:
- Core Web Vitals – a new signal which includes; Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) which measures loading performance, First Input Delay (FID) which measures interactivity, and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) which measures visual stability
- Mobile-Friendly – an existing ranking signal
- Safe Browsing – an existing ranking signal that impacts pages visually in Search
- HTTPS – an existing ranking signal related to the security of the site
- Mobile Pop-Up Algorithm – an existing ranking signal covering intrusive interstitials
Focus on user experience
User experience is really important to Google, and a lot of its recent algorithm changes have been focused on that. For example, Google’s focus on mobile has meant that having pages that are mobile-friendly is more important than ever, websites need to avoid using pop-ups and interstitials which can inhibit user experience on mobile devices, user information should be kept safe through a secure site, and so on.
Google is already taking these factors into account when it comes to user experience, but they have never been wrapped up into one big signal before now.
How does this impact us and our clients?
Our SEO team has been delving into this new signal to see if we can discover the weighting of each object, but Google is being very secretive as usual. What this means, however, is that Google can adjust scoring across the factors, add or refine factors, and remove factors at will! In fact, Google themselves have said that they will update the Page Experience signal on an annual basis – they do like to keep us on our toes!
As we have said above, Google has told us it will give us six months’ notice before it rolls out this new signal – and we haven’t had that yet. However, in the meantime, we are starting to work on the sub-signals that are part of this larger signal, ensuring our clients’ websites are in good shape from a ranking perspective for whenever Google decides to roll this out.
If you would like us to help you get your website in shape, so it stays on top of Google’s many algorithm changes, please contact us today. You can call us on 01625 238 770 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
