A few months ago, news broke regarding the Google Page Experience Algorithm Update. The update was launched in June and finally finished rolling out in August.

This update was set to make changes to Google’s algorithm (the way it ranks websites) and introduce Core Web Vitals.

As a quick refresh: Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics designed to measure a webpage’s ‘health’, in terms of providing a smooth user experience.

The ‘Big Three’ Metrics:

• Content loading speed: How fast the images, videos and text content on your page load, along with any other assets.
• Interactivity: Measures how responsive your website is, to the user and overall.
• Visual Stability: Measures many layout shifts can occur when someone is browsing through your site.

What if I get a low score? Does this mean my website is broken??

Although it’d be a good idea to focus on boosting your site’s core vitals, there’s no need to panic if your site scores low. Google’s new update has just changed some of the ways it ranks sites; it’s certainly not a rank of overall quality.

What matters most is the actual speed of your website. The SBM team has tested some websites that have super fast loading times, but even those don’t have perfect scores.

The purpose of the Google Page Speed Insights tool is to help identify areas of improvement and give you some specifics in how to fix issues.

Will I see an immediate hit to my rankings if my score is poor?

The update was rolled out over time, so no one should be hit with any sudden drops.

The good news is that these core vitals are not the only factor that Google takes into account when determining your position on their search engine.

Other factors include the quality of your links (how well your website is internally linked, links from external sources, etc.) and even small details such as title and header tags.

Where can I get help on fixing my website weaknesses?

SBM’s Development team has been aware of the issue, and we’ve already helped many of our clients boost their core vitals.

If you need further information or would like expert advice on how to improve your core web vitals, get in contact today and let us know how we can help.