The Google Page Experience Update is set to launch in May 2021. Google has given more than a year to the website owner and SEO experts to prepare for this update. It will be a handy addition to Google’s ranking system. In this article, we will briefly explain the page experience update, its prominent features, and the expected testing of visual indicators. But, before that, let’s start with the very basic definition.

What is page experience?

Page experience is simply the user-experience, widely known as UX. It’s about how people perceive the experience of a specific web page. The website developers try their best to deliver the best on-page experience to end-users.

What is Google page experience update?

In this update, Google will evaluate a set of signals to measure the user experience on web pages. After that, Google will include these measurements as a ranking factor for websites.  The new page experience signals combine Core Web Vitals, which consist of loading, interactivity, and visual stability, with existing search signals including mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS-security, and intrusive interstitial guidelines. All these ranking factors come under the Google Core Web Vitals.

In this update, Google also plans to test a visual indicator that highlights pages in search results that have a great page experience.

 

Visual indicators of user experience in search results

In the upcoming page experience update, Google is planning to test various ways to display a “visual indicator” in the search results. This indicator will inform a searcher whether a specific search result is expected to have a great experience or not. Previously, Google has shown these types of visual indicators with AMP icons, slow labels, mobile-friendly labels, and more.

These visual indicators will be highly helpful to the user in choosing quality web pages while searching. A snippet or image preview can help the users to know what information a page can provide. Visual indicators will identify pages that have met all of the page experience criteria.

These visual indicators phenomena look quite promising, but it’s hard to say that how long the user experience indicators will last. It’s all up to Google if it thinks it’s worth displaying in the search results.  It’s important to let you know that Google hasn’t shared any sample of these visual indicators yet.

However, Google indicated that you may see these icons and labels in the search results soon. Google wrote that “We plan to test this soon and if the testing is successful, it will launch in May 2021 and we’ll share more details on the progress of this in the coming months.”

Now, being a website owner or SEO expert, how to prepare for this update?

Well, it’s the right time to start preparing for user experience to keep your website relevant. You can take help from the Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console. It’s the perfect place to get an idea of how your site is performing in these areas. You can easily adjust your website according to the new expected update afterward.