The company confirmed that an update to Google’s Page Experience algorithm for desktop search results is now rolling out “slowly.”
The update is scheduled to roll out by the end of March.
The page experience update is now slowly rolling out to the desktop version. It will be completed by the end of March 2022. Learn more about the update: https://t.co/FQvMx3Ymaf
— Google Search Center (@googlesearchc) February 22, 2022
advance notice is November 2021 The Page Experience update, rolling out for the first time in mobile search results, will roll out to desktop search in February 2022.
Right here, on schedule.
There are some key differences between how the page experience applies to mobile compared to desktop.
See the next section for more information on the factors included in desktop updates and what this means for your website.
Google Pages Experience Update for Desktop Search
The page experience update for Google Desktop Search is an extension of the algorithm rolling out in Mobile Search in the summer of 2021.
For the most part, the desktop version of the page experience includes the same ranking signals as the mobile version update.
“This means that the same three Core Web Vitals metrics: LCP, FID, and CLS, and their associated thresholds, will apply to desktop rankings. Other aspects of page experience signals, such as HTTPS security and non-intrusive interstitials, will remain the same.”
Mobile friendliness is a signal built into the mobile search page experience that will no Suitable for desktop.
What does this update mean for your website?
Google will now consider factors that were not previously evaluated for your site in desktop search results.
If your site scores high on these factors on mobile, it’s likely to perform similarly on desktop.
Given the mobile friendliness no As a factor in the desktop refresh of the page experience, your site may benefit from a ranking boost in desktop search, even if it’s not optimized for mobile (as long as other criteria are met).
If your website has separate desktop and mobile URLs, desktop signals are based on the URL that desktop users see.
Google Search Console has a new report dedicated to evaluating page experience standards for desktop pages.
You can use this report to understand how your site might be affected by the update when it finishes rolling out by the end of next month.
Desktop reports can be accessed from the Page Experience tab in Search Console, just below the mobile reports.
It looks the same as the mobile report except for the “Mobile Availability” section.
See the example in the screenshot below:
Screenshot from https://search.google.com/search-console, January 2022.Please note that you should not jump to conclusions about the impact of this update until it completes its rollout at the end of March.
If you notice changes in your desktop search rankings between now and the end of March, they may not be directly related to the page experience update.
For more guidance on page experience updates, see:
Featured image: ThomasAFink/Shutterstock
