Google’s New Ranking Signal: Core Web Vitals & Page Experience Update Explained

13 Jun 2020

Google Algorithm Update

As the digital world evolves, user experience has become a top priority for Google. In 2025, Google introduced its new ranking signal that takes Core Web Vitals into account, alongside existing user experience signals. This update is designed to enhance the overall experience users have while browsing, improving how pages are ranked based on factors like page loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.

Let’s dive into what these changes mean for site owners and how you can prepare for the upcoming changes to Google’s ranking algorithms.

What Is Google’s New Ranking Signal?

The Page Experience Signal is Google’s new ranking factor, set to combine Core Web Vitals with other existing signals such as mobile-friendliness, safe browsing, and interstitial guidelines. This signal’s purpose is to improve the overall user experience of a page and ensure websites align with user expectations.

Understanding Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a set of performance metrics that measure the user experience on a webpage. They focus on three key aspects of page performance:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): LCP measures how long it takes for the main content of a page to load. The goal is to have an LCP of 3 seconds or less to ensure a fast and smooth page loading experience.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS measures the unexpected layout shifts of visual content as a page loads. For a good user experience, CLS should be less than 0.1 to prevent content from moving around unpredictably.
First Input Delay (FID): FID measures how long it takes for a page to become interactive after a user’s first interaction. An ideal FID time is under 100 milliseconds to make sure users can quickly engage with the content.

These metrics focus on loading, interactivity, and visual stability—all of which contribute to how well a user interacts with a webpage.

What Is Google’s Goal Behind the Core Web Vitals Update?

The primary aim of the new ranking signal is to improve the overall user experience by rewarding websites that provide a seamless, high-quality experience. Google wants pages to meet certain user experience criteria and, as a result, it will consider these factors when ranking pages.

While the quality of the content will always remain the top priority, pages that excel in both content relevance and user experience will be favored in search rankings. Google stresses that content relevance cannot be overlooked. Websites with strong content and a poor page experience will still rank well, but sites that combine great content and excellent user experience will have the edge.

Will Core Web Vitals Act as a Tiebreaker?

In situations where two pages provide similar high-quality, relevant content, Google will use the Core Web Vitals as a tiebreaker. If both pages have equally relevant content, the page with the better user experience (stronger page experience signal) will be ranked higher. This means that improving your page’s user experience could be the deciding factor in ranking in highly competitive search results.

How Will Core Web Vitals Be Measured?

Google offers a variety of tools to help website owners measure and track their Core Web Vitals. Some of the most popular tools include:

Lighthouse
Chrome UX Report
Search Console
Chrome Dev Tools
PageSpeed Insights

These tools provide insights into the performance of your site in terms of loading time, layout shifts, and interactivity. Site owners can use these tools to assess their Core Web Vitals and make the necessary adjustments to improve user experience.

Preparing for the Core Web Vitals Update

As Google has given site owners ample time to prepare for these changes, the update is expected to launch in 2025. This means that it’s crucial to start optimizing your website now to meet the new user experience standards. Here’s how you can get started:

Audit Your Site’s Core Web Vitals: Use tools like PageSpeed Insights and Search Console to evaluate your site’s Core Web Vitals.
Optimize Page Speed: Focus on reducing load times to improve LCP. Consider image optimization, server performance, and lazy loading.
Reduce Layout Shifts: Make sure that elements like images, fonts, and ads are sized correctly to avoid unexpected shifts during page load, improving CLS.
Improve Interactivity: Minimize JavaScript execution and optimize your site’s responsiveness to reduce FID.

Wrapping Up

With the introduction of Core Web Vitals and the Page Experience Update, Google is taking user experience to the next level in search rankings. Although content relevance remains the most important factor, improving user experience through better page performance can help your site rank higher in Google search results.

Start preparing now by optimizing your website’s Core Web Vitals and ensuring that your site meets Google’s new ranking signal. These changes will not only improve your rankings but also enhance the overall user experience, leading to higher engagement and conversions.

Keep track of updates from Google Search Console and other performance tools to make necessary adjustments ahead of the update's full rollout in 2025.

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Author

Nirlep Patel

I am an internet entrepreneur and also the Co-Founder of GBIM Technologies, India’s fastest growing internet marketing company. My forte lies in actively lending technical expertise in Search Engine Optimisation, SEM Google AdWords, SMM. Spanning about 14 years of focus on Digital Marketing, GBIM today has become one of the greatest digital marketing company. This could have been possible only because of the trust which our clients have on us, and the quality services we have delivered to them I have always believed that more is lost from indecision than wrong decisions and as a result, we have managed to create an environment where people are encouraged to challenge process and innovate. This culture has cultivated a highly motivated team with an open approach where anyone can share their thoughts and ideas freely.