UX to join the stable for Google ranking factors
Google is set to up the game for website owners in early 2021, announcing in late May that from next year they’ll be launching a new algorithm that will rank sites according to User Experience (referred to as ‘UX’).
UX is, in short, the way that users interact with your website -how easy you make it for them to understand what it is you do, how they can find what they need, how they can achieve what they want to do (learn, buy, ask etc.) and whether or not the content on web pages makes sense in relation to the user’s search requirements.
Added to this, Google’s other ranking factors – which sit within its Core Web Vitals tools – such as page load times, mobile-friendliness, intrusive advertising and page security protocols have an impact on how a page is ranked overall.
What does this mean for website owners?
From next year, Google will add UX into the list of checks it does in order to rank your website, meaning that business owners need to review their platforms sooner rather than later, to give them time to adjust accordingly.
In reality, website owners should use the update as motivation to review their websites in general – much like one services a vehicle, giving your website an overall health check and optimising where necessary are part of a good general strategy for continuous improvement.
To help assess the requirements, Google has added Core Web Vitals to Search Console, giving website owners and their digital partners additional capability to check through existing site factors and time to repair, update or replace as necessary.
For guidance on your website UX and other factors that may help to improve your ranking, contact a member of our friendly SEO experts today or email info@realnet.co.uk.