John Mueller from Google was recently asked on Twitter about how important page speed is for ranking in Google, and whether you should be focusing on good user experience if you’ve got other SEO issues with your site.
When asked this question, Mueller replied saying that ‘page speed’ is very vague, as Google focuses on three main factors:
Core Web Vitals (CWV)
This is part of page speed and has been since 2021. It connects with the next factor, page experience. The best way to check your CWV is to use Google Lighthouse (which is built into Chrome) or the Page Speed Insights tool (https://pagespeed.web.dev/).
Page experience
This refers to a user’s experience on your website – this is not just a factor for Google, but should be an overall factor you should be considering when building your website and optimising it, as having a bad user experience can lead to fewer leads and sales.
Helpful content
Helpful content is one of the main factors Google is focusing on currently, as having helpful content ties in with offering a good user experience.
To conclude, having a good user experience doesn’t magically fix other issues you might have on your site. Therefore, you’ve got to consider the many other factors that can affect your site’s performance in search engines, and focus on these as well.
In short, don’t simply stress over user experience and Core Web Vitals – you also need to ensure you’re writing and publishing regular and useful content for your target audience.
If you’re looking to boost your sales and leads through your online presence, whether through SEO and content or other means, get in touch with our friendly team at Engage Web, and we can discuss how we can help your business.
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