It’s been almost half a year since Google rolled out the page experience signals for mobile search. These signals have already impacted the visibility of countless mobile websites on search engine results pages (SERPs), and now, the page experience algorithm is finally making its way to desktop.
Google announced that Core Web Vitals metrics will start affecting the rankings of desktop websites in February 2022.
What This Means for Your Website
This means that you’ll need to make sure your website meets the thresholds for these three criteria:
- First Input Delay (FID)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Aside from the CWV metrics, your website will also be evaluated according to the following two factors:
- HTTPS Security
- Absence of intrusive interstitial ads
The ranking signal of mobile-friendliness won’t apply to desktop websites. In case a website has separate URLs for a desktop and a mobile version, the desktop signals will be based only on the URLs that desktop users can access.
How to Check Your Performance
Just like there is a Search Console report for checking your Web Vitals scores for mobile sites, there will also be a separate report for desktop in Search Console. It will launch before desktop becomes a ranking signal.
Delaying or failing to get your website up to date with the Core Web Vitals metrics and other factors before February 2022 will have a negative effect on your website’s visibility. It will result in lower rankings, fewer clicks, and less organic traffic. This could have a serious impact on your business, so it’s best to act now.
Contact us at WP100 for a consultation. We’ll make sure your website meets Google’s standards for page experience before it becomes a ranking factor in February 2022.
