Google today announced a delay to its Page Experience ranking update. Due to go live in May, the rollout will start in mid-June 2021 and will be a gradual process lasting the end of August.
“We'll begin using page experience as part of our ranking systems beginning in mid-June 2021. However, page experience won't play its full role as part of those systems until the end of August.”
The adjusted rollout schedule gives site owners more time to prepare for the algorithm change which will see Core Web Vitals becoming ranking signals.
One of the reasons for the gradual rollout is that Google will be able to monitor for any unexpected or unintended issues.
Google says page experience remains one of many ranking factors and sites should not expect drastic changes.
“As we have said before, while this update is designed to highlight pages that offer great user experiences, page experience remains one of many factors our systems take into account. Given this, sites generally should not expect drastic changes."
The page experience update will also include the following:
- AMP format no longer required for the Top Stories carousel. Any page, irrespective of its Core Web Vitals score or page experience status, will be eligible to appear as long as it meets the Google News policies
- The use of non-AMP material is being expanded across news.google.com and news mobile apps
- The AMP badge icon to indicate AMP content will no longer be shown
New Page Experience report in Search Console
Google also announced a new Page Experience report, now live and available in Search Console.
This combines the existing Core Web Vitals report with other components of the page experience signals such as:
- HTTPS security
- Absence of intrusive interstitials
- Safe browsing status
- Mobile friendliness
The Page Experience report shows you metrics such as the percentage of URLs with good page experience and search impressions over time, and you can also dig deeper into the components of page experience signals to gain additional insights into areas for improvement.
Google has also updated the Search Performance report. You can now filter on pages with good page experience, allowing you to keep track of how these compare to other pages on the site.
Further resources on the page experience update:
Google publishes expanded FAQ on Page Experience update, Core Web Vitals
What are Core Web Vitals and why are they such a big deal?
Understanding Google Site Performance and Web Vitals
Google's Page Experience ranking signals for Search to roll out May 2021
