What Business Owners Need to Know About Google’s Page Experience Algorithm Update

What is Google Page Experience?

Google Page Experience represents a reorganization of four existing search engine ranking signals and the introduction of three new signals called “Core Web Vitals.” Google Page Experience is expected to go live in May 2021.

What Has Changed and Why?

Most modern industrial websites are already performing in accordance with the four existing signals that make up Google Page Experience. Those signals include Mobile Friendly, Safe Browsing, HTTPS, and the absence of intrusive interstitial pages.

The three new ranking signals include Loading, which refers to loading times, Interactivity, the responsiveness of elements like links and buttons after the user clicks them, and Visual Stability, which monitors movement from elements that have already fully loaded on the page.

Although the impact of these standards is expected to be gradual, they represent a marked increase in the technical performance that a website needs to deliver to maximize its search position and avoid penalties.

How This Could Affect Your Business

Pros

Businesses that have already been careful to optimize in response to earlier Google changes are well-positioned to capture ranking improvements from Google Page Experience. If you are in a competitive market where it has been difficult to gain ground on established rivals, the introduction of Google Page Experience may create new opportunities. Slower-moving market players could lose page one positions if they fail to act.

Cons

All in all, the standards for page loading times will become more strict after Google Page Experience. Likewise, the new elements of GPE represent areas where no proven plan for optimization already exists. That being the case, some industrial brands will need to develop a comprehensive strategy to update their website or risk some level of rank shift. For many, this will be best done in partnership with a digital marketing firm.

Risk of Not Taking Action

If you are in the industrial sector, Google Page Experience represents the biggest threat to your visibility in search results in several years. It stands to have a widespread impact far greater than any changes that have taken place on Google since 2018. Because GPE will inaugurate several all-new ranking factors that have never been part of website planning before, businesses that do not act should expect to lose search engine ranks.

AIMG marketing for industrial companies ensures you’re always on the cutting edge as digital marketing continues to evolve. To learn more, contact us.