Google recently released information about an update to its page ranking system to improve the Google experience for users across all platforms. The update adjusts the metrics used to determine which sites appear first in search results. The Google algorithm update 2021 release date was June 2, but it takes a couple of weeks to fully roll out. It’s a great time to update your site’s content and user-friendliness or hire a digital marketing service to do it for you.
Google Updates 2021 Reveals Major Changes
The 2021 update’s initial rollout date was supposed to be in May. The change in release date gave site administrators time to ensure accessibility to all pages on their site. Major changes you can expect from the update include the following:
- Any page has the potential to appear in Google’s Top Stories.
- The update highlights pages with superior user experience and content quality.
- Google specifically ranks on the loading, interactivity, and visual stability of each page.
Google’s Page Experience and Search Performance reports are also receiving updates to help you adhere to the new metric focus.
How Google’s 2021 Update Might Affect Your Site
You may already ensure your site is mobile friendly and full of quality content. If not, now is the time to take action, or you may lose your top spot in search engine results. Your site ranking after Google’s updates in 2021 depends on how well you understand certain Core Web Vitals.
The silver lining of the Google Experience updates is the resulting increase in user-friendly content. The prompt to continue improving the information you present online will give your site a professional look and feel users want. You can significantly improve your daily page views by keeping your site in line with the updated expectations.
New Page Priority Considerations
To keep your site on top, you need to be familiar with the new search engine optimization (SEO) focus. The Core Web Vital factors Google will be looking at after the new update include First Input Delay (FID), Largest Content Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), SSL certification or HTTPS, and whether you employ intrusive pop-ups over any platforms. You may be unfamiliar with some of those acronyms, but they are all important.
- First Input Delay (FID) is an essential web metric that tracks how long it takes users to interact with your web page once it opens.
- Largest Content Paint (LCP) looks at how long it takes the largest item on any page to load. Most people have experienced sitting and staring at a half-loaded page while an empty box loads into a large image. That is LCP in action.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) keeps track of the amount of shifting that takes place as a page loads. For example, if you have ever used a website not designed to be mobile friendly, you probably saw the text, images, and buttons rearrange themselves on your phone for a few seconds. The reconfiguration is CLS, and it impacts user-friendliness.
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certification and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) keep your site secure and safe for anyone visiting. Without them, visitors cannot be sure the page is trustworthy.
- Intrusive pop-ups are annoying and are considered a safety issue if they link directly to an unsecured site.
Google will be monitoring these key features, so it’s important to update your website to remain competitive.
Keep Your Content Accessible and User Friendly
More and more people are using their phones, tablets, and other smart devices to search the web, and how well your site loads on them will impact your ranking. Your site should remain accessible and user friendly across all platforms. You can do that by eliminating extraneous images, animations, and large blocks of content.
Google will look at how quickly and thoroughly pages load. An overuse of pop-ups, large images, and complex coding slows how long it takes web pages to be fully accessible, especially on mobile devices. Try to cut down on unnecessary code and develop layouts specifically for mobile users.
Impact on the Google News Carousel
Google News stands out as an excellent way to reach new readers for your informative blog posts and site articles, but the competition will get stiffer in the coming months. With Google’s 2021 algorithm update, any page can potentially be listed if it meets accessibility, safety, and quality standards. If you rely on Google News to draw in site views, you can get your site ready for this update and attract more viewers.
What You Should Do to Prepare
You can view the Page Experience report for your site on Google Console. Using this tool, you can identify any problem areas on your site and fix them. Page Experience tracks Core Web Vitals, mobile-friendliness, HTTPS and safety features, and Ad Experience.
Look over your current Page Experience report to see where you are excelling and what areas still need attention.
Focus on Superior Content
Superior content quality remains essential despite the changes encouraging sites to become more accessible to users. Google remains committed to ensuring the best experience for people on the web by providing them with easy access to relevant information across all platforms.
Get Professional Assistance to Stay on Top
If you do not feel confident in your ability to get your site ready quickly, you’re not alone. Plenty of digital marketing professionals are out there and are prepared to help anyone who needs a little assistance getting their site up to scratch. Keep your web pages within the top search engine results by letting the experts do the heavy lifting for you.
Ensure Your Page Rankings Remain High
You have control over how well your site ranks in search results and whether it appears on the Google News carousel. Experts at Tampa web design can help you refine your search engine ranking so that you can succeed with the 2021 Google Experience updates. Call today at 813-536-3878 to get started.
