User Experience and latest Google updates

Google continually tweaks its search algorithms by keeping track of sites' performance and user interaction, so users always get the best results from the best sites.

For example, when the number of browsers using phones increased, Google issued amendments since 2014 whereby sites must be mobile friendly.

In and since August 2021, "Mobile Friendliness" has become one of the basic algorithms for displaying results, meaning that the site must be compatible with the use of phones in order to appear on the first pages of search results.

The browser focuses on the user experience, but for desktops, through modifications in the algorithms for displaying the results, to continuously improve the page experience, to provide the best experience for users and sites.

Who is this Post For?

This article is for marketers, marketing managers, programming novices, content writers, and SEO responsibilities.

Whereas, marketing officials and programmers must be aware of the latest developments in search algorithms so that they can modify the sites if they need it so that their site does not come out of the competition as a result of the updates they must make.

Page Experience

The latest update focused on the "Page Experience" experience, but for desktop devices, to give the user the best experience of the site "Best User Experience".

And its implementation has already started during the period from the end of February 2022 until the end of March 2022, as many sites found that their order had been changed dramatically and unexpectedly due to this latest update.

And if you are reading the article between these two dates, you should know that the ranking of your site continues to change until the end of March.

Do not be happy or sad if you find your site’s ranking has started to rise or vice versa. You should measure the sites’ performance and try to fix the points that may affect the site’s performance, in order to help it advance in the search engine results.

A page's experience measures 5 key elements of its performance, and these elements are determined by tracking the user experience of a page's performance apart from the content provided by this page.

These elements also help make the site successful and increase user interaction on it, thus reducing unwanted results to match the expected results.

Core Web Vitals

Core web vitals are the basic set of indicators that make up the user experience from a technical point of view of the performance of the site and include three basic indicators they are loading, interaction, and visual stability of the page.

They were identified by observing the behavior of users, as it was found that when these indicators are available in the performance of the site, this user is more satisfied with the performance of the site and spends time browsing what they need.

Of course, this is in addition to the content, the better the performance of the site, the more users interact with the content, but despite the importance of page performance, good and appropriate content remains the priority in the interaction of users.

But if many pages offer content of the same quality, the pages with better performance indicators will rank higher than the other pages.

Larget Contentful Paint (LCP)

Largest Contentful Paint, or The speed at which the largest part of a page is rendered, is the speed at which the page loads, such as how quickly images and speech appear on the page.

The page load speed indicates that its details appear more clearly, so that the page does not go down with the loading of the writing part, for example, and then the image.

Displaying the largest or main part of the content in a short time increases user confidence, the faster the content is displayed, the more likely the user will remain on the page and not close it.

Note that a good load quality is that about 75% of the main content of the page is displayed in 2.5 seconds or less, and if the time that the page takes is more than that, it needs to be improved.

First Input Delay (FID)

First Input Delay is the reaction part, we wouldn't say first impressions last but first impressions are very important in building customer trust.

Impressions are represented in the shape and design of the site as well as its speed and response, and since tastes differ from one person to another, there is no difference in the speed and response of the site.

Page response is measured by measuring the time since the user interacted with the page by, for example, going to the home page or using a specific element, and the site's response time to that interaction.

Where the site response time to user interaction should be about 100 milliseconds or less, and 75% of the page is loaded in 2.5 seconds or less, and if any of them are more than this, it needs to be modified.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Cumulative Layout Shift is visual stability, that is, the contents of the page do not move down or up while the page is being loaded.

This can happen as a result of the appearance of a new image, video, or ad with unknown or dynamically changing dimensions, as well as changing the font size used, all of which may lead to a constant change of page arrangement and completely unpopular for users.

Have you ever when you click on something like the next page or buy something, etc., you find yourself clicking on something else that you don't want?

Of course, it is not convenient for the user to find that the part he is reading or seeing is moving in front of him and this may lead to him not completing the article or the exclusion of the site and avoiding it in the future.

Therefore, to build a good and distinctive user experience, the CLS score should not be more than 0.1 and above that it needs improvement.

Measuring Core Web Vitals

Measurement tools are constantly evolving with the development of search algorithms, where measuring performance correctly and properly helps to develop the performance of sites and increase its efficiency, and thus increase the confidence of users in these sites.

These tools help the developers to improve the performance of their sites, and also help the marketers to measure the performance of the site from time to time and follow it up to avoid any malfunction that may occur on the site or a negative change in the ranking of the site.

Page loading, interactivity, and visual stability can be measured by tools provided by Google or by other tools, such as Page Speed ​​Insights or the GT Metrix tool.

You can also measure and know your site's performance through your site's "Google Search Console" reports.

These reports help in identifying the cause of the problem for each point, so the developer can fix it by solving those problems.

“IT IS A LONG FACT THAT A READER WILL BE DISTRACTED BY THE READABLE CONTENT OF A PAGE WHEN LOOKING AT ITS LAYOUT.”

Md Sumon Mia

Website Security HTTPS

Site security is the fourth point in Google's algorithm updates, represented by "HTTPS", which is an acronym for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure", which stands for Secure Text Link Transfer Protocol.

So we find that search engines display the abbreviation of this protocol before the site link, such as https://www.primecodeeg.com/, to clarify the security of this site.

Also, for most of the engines, when you search for an unsafe site, the engine displays a page explaining that this site is not safe and it is not recommended to browse through it, and you can browse through it only after your consent and permission to do so.

It also displays an exclamation point inside a red triangle to warn the user not to continue to this site.

Intrusive Interstitials

Intrusive interstitial ads are those ads that appear along with the page and visually obscure the content, so the reader or user cannot continue to read or follow the content, which can cause inconvenience to many users.

Also, these ads make it difficult for Google or other search engines to understand the content of the page, which can lead to poor search performance.

Of course, if users find it difficult to use your site, they will most likely not visit it again, including the search engine used.

Mobile-friendly

Mobile compatibility and responsiveness are major factors affecting user experience, but it is not one of the points that Google reviews on sites currently, it has been modified previously.

Compatibility and responsiveness with mobile devices mean the user's ability to browse the site and the ability to read the displayed data with ease and clarity, and it can be measured through the "Mobile-Friendly Test" tool.

Since more than 60% of browsers use their mobile devices to browse, a site must be built that interacts with different displays.

Summary

Google updates are permanent and continuous to ensure the best user experience in addition to providing the best service to the sites, so you must review the performance of the site and resolve any issues it may have to ensure the best results.

Therefore, you should review the page load speed, its interaction with users, pay attention to visual stability and avoid displaying dynamic shapes or ads that change their size from time to time on the page.

Also, taking care of the security of the site is indispensable for users and search engines as well, to preserve their personal information and not exploit it in one way or another.

Also, in addition to paying attention to the basic web performance indicators and site security, you should also pay attention to the content provided because it is this content that must be asked and inquired about by users, so there is no need for good and appropriate content.

Images Resources: developers.google.com, web.dev.