A major Google search algorithm update—with “wide-reaching impact”—takes effect in 2 months. This update will introduce new page experience signals, combining Core Web Vitals—designed to measure how users experience the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a page—with the existing search signals.
According to Google, these changes are expected to “have wide-reaching impact,” which is why the company has been repeatedly announcing the upcoming change for months.
This is important because Google is making Core Web Vitals a ranking factor. Starting May 2021, publishers whose sites are not optimised for these new metrics may see significant drops in their rankings on the search engine that powers well over 90% of searches worldwide.
The search giant has also introduced a range of tools to measure Core Web Vitals, so publishers can effectively prepare for the change, and address the issues that need to be fixed in order to present a better user experience, as measured by the new metrics.