Core Web Vitals and the Page Experience Update: What They Mean for Local Businesses

Google is currently putting together the final changes for a search algorithm update that they’ve announced will land in May 2021. 

The update is being called the Page Experience update because of its focus on usability rather than things like keywords or search relevance. Google has already provided some information on the update, which aims to measure and potentially rank the experience that a user encounters when visiting a page.

The fact that Google have given so much warning about the update says all you need to know about how seriously to take it. We know it’ll impact organic search results but as of yet, there’s no word on whether there will be any specific impact on Google My Business rankings.

Although this update is due to hit the algorithm in May, there’s no reason not to get ahead of it now and ask yourself,  “what will the Page Experience update mean for my local SEO efforts?”

Here we’ll look at how the update will work and provide some clear and actionable steps to help you optimize your local business website for it.

What is the Page Experience update?

At the very highest level, the update will for the first time implement the Core Web Vitals that Google defined in 2020 into the search algorithm. The aim of those metrics is that users should have a web experience that is straightforward, reliable, safe, and works great on any device.

The Page Experience update is ultimately the leveling up of those metrics from a ‘request’ to a ‘demand’, in that, theoretically at least, your local business site will perform worse in search if a comparable competitor is performing better in Core Web Vitals.

Core Web Vitals and the Page Experience Update

Source: Google

That said, the Page Experience update isn’t just about the new Core Web Vitals. It includes a bunch of usability factors that are already important in search, but that may become more important with the release of this update.

Let’s take a look at the key elements of the Page Experience update:

Core Web Vitals

Moving further than simple page loading speed, Google’s Core Web Vitals are a relatively new way of measuring sites’ performance across the web. In recent times the average user expects seamless, fast browsing experiences, particularly on mobile devices.

What are the Core Web Vitals metrics?

  • Largest Contentful Paint: how quickly the largest piece of content loads
  • First Input Delay: how quickly the page responds to the first user input
  • Cumulative Layout Shift: how stable the visual elements of the page are

Core Web Vitals

Source: Google

To support the release of Core Web Vitals, Google has released or updated a whole suite of tools to help webmasters keep on top of their site’s performance.

Core Web Vitals tools

Source: Google

For local businesses, significant CWV gains above and beyond your competitors can place you as the leader in your area, shooting you up the search rankings for local..



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