The Newest Google Algorithm Update: What Is It, and What Does it Mean for Businesses?

By on 03/24/2021


The search engine giant has announced an update to their ever-changing search algorithm, giving businesses and marketers alike pause over their page rankings and websites. The Google algorithm update is scheduled for May 2021, but what exactly does it look like, and what does it mean for businesses?

What to Look Out For

From business owners to e-commerce professionals and digital media specialists, nearly everyone is worried about the google algorithm update.

From what we’ve learned so far, this update, fortunately, has some pretty tangible pieces for marketers and digital business owners to work with. The most significant part of the update will be a shift to assessing Page Experience, an element that Google will now consider in its rankings.

Page Experience is a pretty simple idea to understand—the better the experience of visiting your site, the better it will rank. Easy right? But it’s what goes into page experience that could force some websites to change things up.

The Full Experience

Long story short, Google wants your website to load quickly, process interactions easily, and remain visually stable. These critical metrics on top of the standardized practices for mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines will round out the search algorithm update.

Loading Time

A website’s load time is a significant factor in whether a visitor will bounce from your page or not. When a website takes upwards of five seconds to load, the bounce rate increases by nearly 90%. Bounce rate continues to increase with longer loading times.

Google is considering the probability a visitor will bounce from your page when ranking websites, so be sure to keep your load times under three seconds for the best results.

Smooth Operator

Similar to page load times, the time it takes for an action to begin after clicking is another major factor in both bounce rate and, now, Google’s algorithm. If your page takes too long to complete a process or action when a user clicks, the worse your page will rank and be received.

Ideally, under 100 milliseconds is the speed you want for input processing, and input delays greater than 300 milliseconds will result in poor ranking and higher bounce rates. You can help your speeds by limiting the number of elements on your web page and removing or replacing features or images that could slow your site down.

Visual Stability

There are few things as frustrating while online than the website you’re visiting constantly jumping around, reloading, and making you lose your place or click on things you never intended to. This lack of visual stability not only affects the number of users jumping from your site but will now affect your page ranking as well.

Removing pop-ups, ensuring consistent loading, and having a straightforward page navigation are all great ways to make your page more visually stable and enjoyable to visit. Ensuring your website is optimized for mobile search is also a significant way to boost stability and user experience. All this goes towards not only a higher page ranking but ultimately conversion rates, too.

Content Still Reigns Supreme

At the end of the day, the content on your website still matters the most when it comes to page ranking and user experience. Having enjoyable, easy-to-read, and engaging content will always improve your ranking and reduce your bounce rate.

Continuing to optimizing your content for SEO combined with taking these steps to take advantage of Google’s new algorithm will leave you in a great position to rank highly on search results and help you find new customers.

Helping You Stand Out and Rank Higher

Navigating the rules and best practices of Google’s search algorithm can be confusing. Fortunately, Black Bear Design is a leading full-service digital marketing agency specializing in web design and SEO tailored to ensure you rank higher and see better conversions. We work to ensure all our clients stand out in the forest.

If you are interested in learning more about our services, starting your new marketing journey, or how the latest algorithm update will affect your business, contact us today!

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