Google Page Experience Update Starts Rolling Out On Desktop

Google’s Page Experience algorithm update for desktop search results is now rolling out “slowly,” the company confirms.

The update is scheduled to finish rolling out by the end of March.

The page experience update is now slowly rolling out for desktop. It will be complete by the end of March 2022. Learn more about the update: https://t.co/FQvMx3Ymaf

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) February 22, 2022

Advance notice was given back in November 2021 that the Page Experience update, first rolled out to mobile search results, will be applied to desktop search by February 2022.

Here it is, right on schedule.

There are some key differences between how Page Experience is applied to mobile compared to desktop.

See the next section for more information on the factors included in the desktop update, and what this means for your website.

Google Page Experience Update For Desktop Search

Google’s Page Experience update for desktop search is an extension of the algorithm that launched in mobile search in the summer of 2021.

For the most part, Page Experience on desktop includes the same ranking signals as the mobile update.

“This means the same three Core Web Vitals metrics: LCP, FID, and CLS, and their associated thresholds will apply for desktop ranking. Other aspects of page experience signals, such as HTTPS security and absence of intrusive interstitials, will remain the same as well.”

Mobile-friendliness, which is a signal built into page experience for mobile search, will not apply to desktop.

What Does This Update Mean For Your Website?

Factors that weren’t previously assessed for your website in desktop search results will now be taken into consideration by Google.

If your website scores well for these factors on mobile, it’s likely it will perform similarly as well on desktop.

Given that mobile-friendliness isn’t a factor for the Page Experience desktop update, your site could potentially benefit from a ranking boost in desktop search even if it isn’t optimized for mobile (as long as other criteria is met).

If your site has separate desktop and mobile URLs, the desktop signal is based on the URLs that desktop users see.

Google Search Console has a new report dedicated to evaluating Page Experience criteria on the desktop versions of webpages.

You can utilize this report to get an idea of how your site may be impacted by the update when it finishes rolling out at the end of next month.

The desktop report can be accessed from the Page Experience tab in Search Console, directly underneath the mobile report.

It looks identical to the mobile report, with the exception of the Mobile Usability section.

See an example in the screenshot below:

Screenshot from https://search.google.com/search-console, January 2022.

Be mindful that you shouldn’t jump to conclusions regarding the impact of this update until it has finished rolling out at the end of March.

If you notice changes in your desktop search rankings between now and the end of March, they may not be directly related to the Page Experience update.

For more guidance regarding the Page Experience update, see:

Featured Image: ThomasAFink/Shutterstock