How to Prepare Your Business for Google’s 2021 Update

Keep up or lag behind. Google’s 2021 update is imminent, and it will make or break online success for many businesses. Don’t let your brand get lost in Google’s pages. Instead, optimise your website in line with Google’s update and reap the rewards of a first page Google ranking.

What is Google’s 2021 Update?

Google’s 2021 Page Experience Update is all about site loading speed, site stability, site interactivity, and site relevance. Ultimately, Google care about the real-world user experience and want Google searchers to find what they’re looking for quickly, easily, and safely. With Google’s share of the global search engine market at over 90%, it’s crucial to prepare your business for Google’s 2021 update and avoid losing out on Google’s extraordinary customer base.

How will Google Rank my Website?

Google will judge and rank websites based on Core Web Vitals, which are a group of user-centric metrics used to measure and assess page experience for users. These metrics will determine how users experience web pages and demonstrate how your website can be optimised to enhance user experience. Google will rank your site based on the following Core Web Vitals:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – How fast does your website load?

You have 3 seconds before you lose a sale. Over half of all website users abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, and 80% of them won’t give your site a second chance. Google’s 2021 Update will judge your website on loading time, which will make this deciding factor even more crucial for conversions, leads, and traffic. This is where Largest Contentful Paint, or LCP, comes in. LCP relates to the largest images, text, and videos on your site, and how quickly this content loads for the user. Ideally, web pages should load in under one second and the faster your site loads, the higher your website will climb on Google.

Test your website’s loading time using Google’s Page Speed Insights Tool, to find out how Google’s 2021 Update will affect your site’s Google position.

Cumulative Shift Layout (CSL) – How fast can your website stabilise?

A poor CSL score means a poor user experience, which will not only damage your Google ranking, but also your online reputation. Google will scrutinise sites for long stability loading times, which create shifting layouts for users. Google browsers should not be detracted from their search destination, which means websites with shifting layouts, that move users from their reading spot on an article to an unrelated part of text, or expunge a button from below a user’s finger, just as they’re about to press ‘Buy Now’, will receive a lower SEO score and a lower ranking on Google. If your website has pop-ups and shifting buttons, links, sliders, or banners that delay loading time, you will lose sales because your site will be difficult to navigate for users, and you will likely have a poor SEO score, meaning users might struggle to find your site in the first place. Tip: Cut back on pop-ups and intrusive objects and ensure all image sizes are defined to decrease the time it takes for your layout to stabilise.

Did you know that over 80% of adults browse the internet using tablets, or smartphones? Your website layout may stabilise quickly on desktop, but with so many people using their mobiles to search online, it’s worth making sure your web pages are mobile-friendly for these users. Use Google’s Mobile Friendly Test to determine if your site looks just as good for your mobile customers.

First Input Delay (FID) – How fast is your site interactive?

If a user taps a button, link, or image on your site, and there’s a delay between their interaction and a response to that interaction, Google and Google users will favour sites without this delay, which means your site will lag behind competitors with quicker FID times. First Input Delay or FID measures the time between a user interacting with a web page to the time when the browser is actually able to begin processing the response to that interaction. To provide a good user experience with a fast response to page interactions, your site should aim for a First Input Delay of 100 milliseconds. There is nothing more frustrating than repeatedly clicking or tapping on a link or button on a web page, for nothing to happen. Google’s 2021 update is all about user-experience, so make sure your site is optimised to get users to their destination quickly.

When is the 2021 Google Update Happening?

Google have promised to give developers six months’ notice before the 2021 Page Experience Update. As we approach the half-way mark in 2021, we can assume Google’s announcement is coming very soon, with the update planned for the end of the year.

How important is Google’s 2021 Update for My Business?

For a long time now, Google has shown extraordinary dominance over other search engines. There are around 3.5 billion Google searches every day and 1.2 trillion Google searches every year.

To put it simply: Everyone Googles.

With so many customers using Google to find products and services, it is crucial that businesses are prepared for Google’s 2021 Page Experience Update. Without this preparation, your business could lose out on a global market of about 1 billion Google users. 

How to Prepare Your Business for Google’s 2021 Update?

Due to the size and complexity of Google’s 2021 Page Experience Update, along with the time it takes to develop and optimise a website, it is advised to leave the work to professional web developers. This way, your site will be prepared for the update and you will reap the rewards of a high-ranking website on Google.  Climbing up the Google ladder means more traffic to your website, more conversions, and ultimately, more money.