Google is continuously making improvements to its algorithm and how websites are ranked on its organic search results page. This means companies have to keep up with these changes to increase their ranking or continue to rank highly. The latest Google algorithm update for 2021 has just been announced, so this is what it means for you and your company.
Google Algorithm Update for 2021 Overview
SEO includes several variables, and you can see improvements in the search engine rankings based on any of them. This involves simple strategies like using keywords, ensuring the content is appropriate to the page’s keywords and titles. This will help in providing a quick load time. These all play a part in ensuring that the person who uses Google finds relevant information. This information is for that specific search and enters it in a search term. This could be for local services, some topic information, or even for shopping purposes.
The emphasis on those parameters often shifts as the algorithm changes. Google launched ‘Panda’ in 2016, for example, an update to the algorithm that prioritized websites with content of high quality. The days of keyword stuffing, redundant content, or very little content to place highly on the search results are gone.
Page Experience Update
The new Google algorithm update for 2021 shifts the focus on the web visitor’s page experience. That means your rating now depends heavily on how well users can access and connect with your website. With a few recent features, the focus on user experience builds on those pre-existing requirements. Criteria for updating this algorithm include:
- Loading
- Interactivity
- Visual stability
- Mobile-friendliness
- Safe browsing
- Https
- Intrusive interstitial guidelines
Google algorithm update for 2021 is called Page Experience Update.
Why is Google starting this new algorithm?
Both internal studies and broader industry research show that users prefer sites that provide user-friendly experiences. In recent years, Google has added several ranking results factors that determine the user experience. It includes as to how fast the page loads the content (page speed) and mobile-friendliness.
Earlier in May 2020, the Chrome team revealed Core Web Vitals better to quantify the web user experience of site owners. It is a collection of metrics related to speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. Core Web Vitals are a series of real-world, user-centered metrics and measure critical aspects of user experience. They calculate web usability dimensions such as loading time, interactivity, and the quality of content as it loads. The Google algorithm update for 2021 aims to provide a holistic image of the user experience. This means that the better it is for your rankings, the more you follow all of the criteria. It will provide a better experience for your website visitors.
If your overall website experience is positive, Google will drive you higher-a few bad pages among several good sites. It will not see your ranking fall. Keeping an eye on user experience will be crucial to pushing the ranks up, though. Some things to look at while making these changes are the popups on your website. Also, consider whether a mobile device uses some features on your website. Because mobile traffic now accounts for more than half of all web traffic.
Why is user experience necessary?
User experience is indeed a significant part of SEO. This is because good experience with the user allows the web visitor to stay longer on the website and eventually click around more than if they were bad. This then indicates to Google that the search query was good at showing you on the results page. A user who sticks around on page tells Google that your website is a significant outcome and a match for him. Thus, your website may be the best place for other people looking for that specific word or similar searches.
The promotion on their website of businesses with good user experience pushes more websites to be enhanced. This also increases the probability that site users will turn to pay customers (or some other conversion). And this will lead to improved business success afterward.
So not only optimizing your site for user experience would improve conversion rate, but it will also raise Google rankings!
