Tips for Providing a Good Page Experience on Your Website According to Google

Google wants to reward websites that offer a good user experience. So, if you want your website to do well in Google’s rankings, it’s not enough to focus on just one or two things. You need to make sure that your website provides a good overall experience across many areas.

To check if your website provides a good user experience, you can ask yourself a few questions. If you answer “yes” to these questions, you’re probably on the right track:

1. Do pages have good Core Web Vitals?

• Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of web pages. You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse to measure your website’s Core Web Vitals.

2. Are pages served in a secure fashion?

• Websites that use HTTPS encryption are considered secure. This means that any data that is sent between the website and the user’s browser is encrypted and protected from prying eyes.

3. Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?

• Mobile-friendly design is crucial in today’s world, where more than half of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices. A mobile-friendly website should have responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions.

4. Does the content lack an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?

• Ads are a common way to monetize websites, but they should not be intrusive or distract from the main content. Make sure your ads are relevant, useful, and not overwhelming to your users.

5. Do pages lack intrusive interstitials?

• Interstitials are pop-up ads that can be annoying to users. If you use interstitials, make sure they are not intrusive and do not interfere with the user experience.

6. How easily can visitors navigate to or locate the main content of your pages?

• Navigation should be intuitive and easy to use. Users should be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

7. Is the page designed so visitors can easily distinguish the main content from other content on your page?

• Design plays an important role in user experience. Make sure your website has a clear visual hierarchy that helps users distinguish the main content from other elements on the page.

It’s important to note that these questions aren’t the only things to consider when it comes to providing a good user experience. But, by answering these questions and using the resources provided by Google, you can improve your website’s overall user experience.

Page experience resources

Here are some resources that can help you measure, monitor, and optimize your page experience:

• Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google Search results: Learn more about Core Web Vitals, including how these are reported within Search Console and resources on how to improve.
• Search Console’s HTTPS report: Learn about a report in Search Console to understand if you are serving secure HTTPS pages and what to fix, if you’re not. This report is currently in testing and will be rolling out to all sites in the future.
• Check if a site’s connection is secure: Learn how to check if your site’s connection is secure, as reported by Chrome. If the page isn’t served over HTTPS, learn how to secure your site with HTTPS.
• Avoid intrusive interstitials and dialog: Learn how to avoid interstitials that can make content less accessible.
• Chrome Lighthouse: This toolset from Chrome can help you identify a range of improvements to make related to page experience, including mobile usability.