Understanding the Page Experience Update in SEO

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What is the Page Experience Update in SEO ?

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Le Page Experience Update is a major update to the Google which has a direct impact on the ranking of sites in search results.

By understanding how it works and implementing the recommended best practices, you can optimise the performance of your business. referencing of your site and improve its visibility to Internet users.

What is the Page Experience Update?

The Page Experience Update is a major update to Google's algorithm, to be introduced in June 2021. It aims to improveuser experience on web pages, taking into account factors such as loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability. The aim is to assess and promote sites that offer a pleasant and efficient browsing experience for users.

The Web Vitals signals now form the basis of this evaluation and therefore directly influence the positioning of sites in the search results.

Web Vitals signals

The Web Vitals signals are a set of three key indicators for measuring the quality of a web page in terms of performance and user experience. They have been chosen by Google to represent the essential aspects of a good browsing experience:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) Measures the speed at which the main content of the page is loaded.
• First Input Delay (FID) time: measures the time it takes for the page to react to the user's first interaction.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) Quantifies the visual stability of the page and the layout changes that may result.

To optimise the user experience and improve your referencingFor this reason, a site should aim to obtain good scores for each of these three indicators. Here are a few best practices to help you achieve this:

Improve loading speed (LCP)

• • Optimise images: reduce their size, use appropriate formats and compress files.
  • Minimising files CSS and JavaScript remove unnecessary spaces, comments and other unnecessary elements to reduce file size.
  • Set up a caching system: store static elements of your site locally to avoid downloading them each time you visit.
  • Enable compression on the server: compress files before sending them to the browser to reduce transfer times.

Improve responsiveness (FID)

• • Avoid long JavaScript tasks: break up large chunks of code into smaller parts that are executed asynchronously to avoid blocking other tasks.
  • Use "passive" event listeners: tell the browser that certain functions can be executed without waiting for user events to be fully processed.
  • Optimise the order in which resources are loaded: prioritise the loading of elements needed to display the main content quickly (CSS, JavaScript, images).

Improving visual stability (CLS)

• • Reserving space for dynamic elements: assigning a fixed size to elements that are likely to change the layout when they are loaded (images, videos, iframes).
  • Avoid sudden or unsettling animations: plan smooth transitions between the different stages of the animation and avoid too many abrupt effects.
  • Prevent clickable elements from being moved: ensure that buttons and links remain stable and accessible even when other page elements are loading.

Other factors taken into account by the Page Experience Update

In addition to the Web Vitals signals, the Page Experience Update also takes into account other criteria that were previously taken into account when evaluating user experience. It is therefore important to continue working on these aspects to optimise your SEO:

• Mobile-friendliness Compatibility of pages with mobile devices has become an essential criterion for Google ranking.
• Secure browsing : the presence of an SSL certificate and the use of the HTTPS are valued by Google's algorithm, which favours sites that offer safe browsing for users.
• The absence of intrusive or "interstitial" pop-ups ads and other elements covering the main content of the page can harm the user experience and therefore penalise the site's SEO.

What impact will this have on websites?

The main aim of the Page Experience Update is toencourage site owners to improve the user experience with an emphasis on technical aspects such as loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability. This update also has the effect of including these criteria in the evaluation of the ranking of sites on Google, which can have a direct impact on their positioning in search results.

However, it should be stressed that, although these factors are important, they are no substitute for the relevance and quality of the content. A site offering rich, informative content that is adapted to users' needs will always have a better chance of ranking well in search results, even if certain aspects of its user experience can be improved.

In short, working on improving the user experience offered by your site is essential for optimising your SEO and maintaining good visibility with web users. By taking into account the Web Vitals signals as well as the other criteria taken into account by the Page Experience Update, you are putting all the chances on your side to meet Google's expectations and attract new visitors to your pages.