Page Experience, Google publishes the FAQs on the update

It is one of the topics that has most stirred up the SEO community, which has been waiting with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety for the departure of Google’s Page Experience Update, Anticipated a year before the actual launch (which, moreover, was also procrastinated from the initial forecast and finally occurred in June 2021). To increase the hype is the attention that Google itself is devoting to the theme, with the publication of various contributions and, just in these hours, also a series of FAQs that help us understand what the update really means and to resolve some of the main doubts that arose in those who work professionally on the Web.

Google clarifies doubts and questions on Core Web Vitals and Page Experience

Despite the fact that it has now been three years since the first references to this intervention-and despite a less noticeable impact on SERPs than one might have thought-Page Experience is still a topic that requires insights, and, in fact, in recent weeks Google has been working precisely on updating various documents in which Page Experience is mentioned, helping to fuel doubts and questions about it. Just to recap, Page Experience has been removed from the currently active Search ranking systems and, as it were, downgraded to a “set of ranking signals used by various systems,” and then the old FAQ page drafted by Cheney Tsai, Google Employee, in the Search Console support forums (the resource now returns a 404 error) has also been removed, replaced by another set of questions/answers helpful in framing the current definition and meaning of the concept.

In fact, that is precisely the term used in the new official guide, written by Danny Sullivan, which defines Page Experience as “a concept used to describe a set of key aspects of the experience on pages” that site owners could, and still can, focus on to try to get better Search results, but more importantly to provide quality service to their users. Another page explains this very point: Google’s core ranking systems “seek to reward content that provides a good on-page experience,” but ideal optimization is not focused on “just one or two aspects of the on-page experience,” but rather on ensuring “an overall positive on-page experience by evaluating multiple aspects.”

In light of this new and more recent information (this revolution was completed in May 2023) we have also adjusted this article of ours, while still leaving a trace of the previous version of the FAQ in the second part of the text.

Google’s new FAQ on Page Experience

So let’s take a look at the first set of questions and answers to the most frequent doubts on this topic.

• Is there a single “indicator related to page experience” used by Google Search for ranking?

No, there is not a single indicator. The main ranking systems look at a variety of indicators in line with the overall on-page experience.

• Indicators related to on-page experience include Core Web Vitals, optimization for mobile, use of HTTPS, and absence of intrusive interstitials. Are these indicators still used in ranking in search results?

On-page experience covers many aspects and not all of these indicators could be used directly to influence ranking: nevertheless, Google believes that these aspects of on-page experience are useful for having a good search ranking and deserve attention.

• Are Core Web Vitals metrics important?

Google strongly urges site owners to have good Core Web Vitals metrics to take full advantage of Search and ensure a great user experience overall. However, for an excellent on-page experience, Core Web Vitals metrics are not enough: good statistics in the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console or in third-party Core Web Vitals reports do not guarantee good rankings.

• Is on-page experience evaluated at the site level or at a specific page level?

Generally, Google’s main ranking systems evaluate content on a page-specific basis, even when they understand aspects related to on-page experience. However, there are some site-level evaluations.

• How important is on-page experience for good ranking?

Google Search always tries to show the most relevant content, even if the experience on pages is mediocre. However, there is a lot of useful content available for many queries, and in these cases, an excellent on-page experience can contribute to success in Search.

• What does this all mean for “on-page experience update”?

The on-page experience update was a concept used to describe a set of key aspects of the on-page experience that site owners can focus on. Specifically, it introduced Core Web Vitals as a new indicator considered by the major ranking systems, along with other indicators related to on-page experience, such as HTTPS, that algorithms were already using. It was not a separate ranking system and did not combine all these indicators into a single “Experience on Pages” indicator.

• Is good on-page experience required to appear in the “Top Stories” carousel on mobile devices?

Experience on pages is not a requirement for eligibility to appear in the “Top Stories” section. If content meets Google News best practices and Google News standards, automated systems may take it into consideration.

• Is on-page experience taken into account in the useful content system?

The useful content system focuses primarily on content-related indicators, rather than on on-page experience and presentation. However, just as the major ranking systems consider indicators in line with good on-page experience, the same is true for the useful content system.

Page Experience and Core Web Vitals: first answers from Google

As we were saying, back in 2020 Google tried to answer the first questions and doubts about Page Experience – and Core Web Vitals, which were the big application innovation of the update – by publishing an information page with a long series of FAQs that can, even today, provide us with interesting insights into the way the user experience was initially evaluated on mobile and desktop devices and the various technologies used to provide such experiences.

Indeed, with the Page Experience, Google intends to focus attention on the user experience, especially from mobile, even beginning to test a visual indicator in the search results to highlight pages that provide an excellent level of navigation for users – in addition, of course, to quality content that meets the search intent, the first and fundamental criterion to be met.

1. What are the metrics? Why are they relevant to users?

It starts right away with a useful summary of what “Core Web Vitals” are, the new user-centric metrics introduced in the months since Google to understand, measure and improve the user experience of each site.

Largest Contentful Paint measures the speed at which users view content; First Input Delay measures the responsiveness of a site to user input (such as pressing a button or entering data into a form); Cumulative Layout Shift measures how often the page elements move while the user tries to read or interact with it.

2. Does Google want all pages to reach these thresholds? What is the advantage?

According to Cheney Tsai, Google “suggests sites to use these three thresholds as a guide to provide an optimal user experience across all pages”. The thresholds of the Core Web Vitals are evaluated at page level and “you may find that some pages are above and others below these thresholds”. The immediate benefit will be a better experience for users visiting the site, but in the long term “we believe that working for a shared set of metrics and user experience thresholds across all websites will be critical to sustaining a healthy web ecosystem“.

3. Do the AMP pages meet the recommended thresholds?

“There is a high probability that AMP pages meet the thresholds”, we read in the answers, because “AMP means offering high quality, user-first experiences” and the basic objectives of the framework “are closely aligned with what Core Web Vitals measures today”.

This means that sites created using AMP can probably easily meet the thresholds of essential Web signals, and also the evergreen version of AMP allows site owners to “achieve performance improvements without having to change their codebase or invest in additional resources”.

But it is important to note that there are things outside of AMP control that can cause pages to not meet the thresholds, such as slow server response times and not optimized images.

4. Can a site meet the recommended thresholds without using AMP?

The answer is yes and so you can optimize performance to meet the Core Web Vitals. The advantage of using AMP is that “you get these web development best practices integrated into the framework without further effort”.

5. If the site is a Progressive Web App, does it meet the recommended thresholds?

Not necessarily, as it will still depend on “how the Progressive Web App is implemented and how real users are experiencing the page”. Core Web Vitals are complementary to the development of a good PWA, but it is important that “every site, whether it is a PWA or not, focuses on loading experience, interactivity and layout stability”.

6. Can a Single Page Application site meet the recommended thresholds?

Core Web Vitals measure the end user experience of a particular web page and do not take into account the technologies and architectures involved to provide such experience. The three metrics are as important for a single page application as they are for other architectures, and “different architectures may involve different friction points to address and meet thresholds”, but regardless of this “what matters is the observed user experience“.

7. A site is mobile-friendly, but has a low Core Web Vitals score on mobile devices: how is that possible?

The Page Experience signal “measures aspects of how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page” and the “Vitals Web Cores are an aspect, along with optimizing for mobile devices”. These elements “are not meant to be superimposed, but additional in order to provide a holistic picture of the page experience”.

8. How can I improve my LCP / CLS / FID score?

Improving metrics for a site requires knowledge of web development. If you are a non-technical user, “we have some suggestions in our Search Console Help Center, but you should consider contacting a professional”.

9. Why are there differences in scores between mobile and desktop?

Here is the big revelation of these FAQs: at this time, writes Cheney Tsai, “the use of the experience on the page as a ranking factor applies only to search from mobile“.

However, “if you’re measuring Core Web Vitalsa using your favorite Real User Monitoring (RUM) tool, you may find that the scores differ between mobile Web and desktop Web” because, while using similar technology to create the site, “real users of the two versions will have different constraints such as the device, the size of the viewport, network connectivity and more”.

10. Can sessions that do not report FID be considered “bounced” sessions?

No, FID excludes scrolls and there are legitimate sessions without non-scroll inputs. The bounce rate and drop rate can be defined as “part of the chosen analysis suite and are not considered in the design of CWV metrics”.

11. How do Core Web Vitals take into account sites whose user base includes high-volume NBU traffic or other users with poor Internet connectivity?

Vitals Web Cores are intended to measure the quality of a user’s experience on a site. The user population of each site is different and some sites, not limited to a particular region, may have significant user populations that could use older devices, slower networks, and so on. In such cases, the sites should adapt the content to ensure that such users continue to receive an excellent user experience and, ideally, still meet the recommended thresholds for Core Web Vitals.

12. Do essential Web signals affect ranking?

We already know the answer: starting in May 2021, Vitals Web Cores will be included among the page experience signals along with other existing ranking factors, including mobile-friendly, safe-browsing, HTTPS security and guidelines for intrusive interstitial.

13. How does Google determine which pages are affected by the evaluation of the page experience and the use as a ranking signal?

The experience on the page is “just one of many factors used to classify pages” and the Googler points out that “the intent of the search query is still a very strong signal, so a page with a lower than average page experience can still have a high position if it has interesting and relevant content“.

14. Is there a difference between desktop and mobile rankings?

Again, we read that “at this moment, the use of the page experience as a signal for ranking applies only to mobile search“.

15. What can site owners expect from their traffic if they do not reach the performance metrics of Core Web Vitals?

Cheney Tsai admits that “it is difficult to make any kind of general prediction” and that there may be more details “to share in the future, when we formally announce that the changes will enter into force”. Here too, however, it repeats itself and highlights that “the content itself and its correspondence with the type of information a user is looking for remain a very strong signal” for ranking.

16. What information does the Search Console provide on Core Web Vitals? What do these errors mean?

In the Google Search Console there is the Core Web Vitals report, based on data from the Chrome UX report, to help site owners identify potential user experience issues. The goal is to ensure that the report is consistent and provides site owners with a view of the status of each of the Core Web Vitals on their site.

17. My page is fast: why are there warnings in the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console?

Different devices, network connections, geographical location and other factors can contribute to the way a page is loaded and experienced by a particular user. Although some users, under certain conditions, may have a good experience, this may not be indicative of the experience of other users. Core Web Vitals “examine the entire body of user visits and its thresholds are valued at the 75th percentile across the body of users”.

Depending on how you are evaluating the speed, it is good to remember that the “Core Web Vitals point to something more than speed: for example, Cumulative Layout Shift describes annoying situations for users like content on the go”. In addition, you can “also use synthetic test tools that attempt to emulate a user, but that representation may differ from your actual users,” the Googler warns.

18. In the analysis in Lighthouse I see no errors: why do they appear in the Search Console report?

The Search Console report “shows the performance of your pages based on real-world usage data from the CrUX report (sometimes called field data); on the other hand, Lighthouse shows data based on what are called lab data“, reminds us Cheney Tsai.

Laboratory data is useful for debugging performance issues when developing a website, as they are collected in a controlled environment, but “may not capture the bottlenecks of the real world”. Therefore, the advice is to use both reports to improve the user experience, knowing however that the information provided by each report is different.