At SILVR, our goal is for each of our clients to be at the top of search results in their market. And once your potential patients find you on the web, we want them to have an enjoyable, informative, and easy-to-use experience on your website. More than 85% of internet searches are conducted on Google, so the SILVR team pays close attention to changes that may affect your ranking.
Google has announced a page experience update that is set to launch in May of 2021. While details of the update are still forthcoming, our team has been researching all of the available information and reading up on expert opinions. We have distilled what we know to help you understand the upcoming update and how it may affect your search ranking.
Page experience is Google’s way of evaluating how users may perceive your page. There are several metrics that go into their analysis of page experience.
The page experience update values a fast website that is quickly responsive to user input commands. People no longer have the patience to wait for a page to load and a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load is considered a poor user experience.
More than ever, people are using their mobile devices to search and view websites and it is important that your site is mobile friendly and can load properly and be easy to use on a number of differently sized devices.
Google gives preference to sites that have a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, which is indicated by a url that starts with https:// as opposed to http://. A site with an SSL certificate encrypts user data to make it less vulnerable to a cyber attack.
Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.
Interstitials, commonly known as pop-up ads, were used in the past to convey important information or confirm access to sensitive content. However, today full page pop-ups that make it difficult to navigate your site will have a negative affect on page experience.
Google already puts significant weight on the quality of your page content and the page experience update will further reinforce the need for high-quality content that provides accurate and relevant information.
While no one outside of the inner workings of Google knows exactly how this update may affect rankings, our experienced digital marketing team can help you take steps to optimize your site. Our web development team can perform a site audit and make recommendations to improve metrics. Our team of medical writers can update copy and add trustworthy sourcing where needed. If your website is more than three years old, it may be time to consider a full refresh because new technologies are emerging rapidly and it is important to stay competitive.
