That\u2019s making it increasingly difficult for SEOs to recognize updates, analyze the effects, and adapt their SEO strategy accordingly. Especially since Google\u2019s communication about algorithm updates is usually vague and intransparent.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also getting harder for us to give you a useful and informative summary of changes (along with concrete recommendations) after each core update. But as an SEO, there\u2019s still no getting around the need to stay up to date with new and important developments. <\/p>\n
So in this article, we\u2019re taking a retrospective look at the most important updates from the last 6 months. We\u2019ll also explain which trends they reflect that you should definitely incorporate into your SEO strategy.<\/p>\n
- Page Experience<\/a><\/li>
- Rollout of the Page Experience update for desktop search<\/a><\/li>
- Two new metrics are available in PageSpeed Insights<\/a><\/li>
- Is Page Experience going to get more important in the future?<\/a><\/li>
- March 2022 Product Reviews Update<\/a><\/li>
- May 2022 Core Update<\/a><\/li>
- In conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n
Ready? Then let\u2019s get started with the first big topic of 2022.<\/p>\n
Page Experience<\/h2>\n
Rollout of the Page Experience update for desktop search<\/h3>\n
With the Page Experience update, Google\u2019s Core Web Vitals<\/a> became an official ranking factor for mobile search about a year ago. In February 2022, Google followed up with the rollout for desktop search<\/strong> which was completed in early March<\/a>.<\/p>\n
For the most part, the update included the same signals as the mobile version. The only factor the desktop version leaves out is (naturally) \u201cmobile-friendliness\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Page](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/desktop-vs-mobile-page-experience.png\")
\nSource<\/a><\/small><\/p>\nA few weeks before, Google had already added a separate report for \u201cDesktop\u201d<\/a> to the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console so that SEOs and site operators could prepare for the February update.<\/p>\n
Two new metrics are available in PageSpeed Insights<\/h3>\n
And then around two months later, Google expanded the tool PageSpeed Insights<\/a> which can be used for evaluating your Core Web Vitals. It now includes two new figures<\/a> allowing you to analyze your user experience more precisely: Time To First Byte (TTFB) and Interaction to Next Paint (INP).<\/p>\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/inp-and-ttfb.png\")
<\/p>\nMaybe you\u2019ve already heard of the first one as it has been around for a while. What\u2019s new is just that it\u2019s available in PageSpeed Insights now. TTFB measures how long it takes for a server to send the first byte when a web page is loaded. That makes this metric a good indicator of your server response time<\/a>.<\/p>\n
INP, on the other hand, is a completely new metric that measures a page\u2019s reaction time during a user\u2019s complete visit \u2013 in contrast to First Input Delay (FID), which only measures the response time for the first<\/em> user interaction. Usually, the longest overall response time is displayed as the INP<\/a>.<\/p>\n
But a word of caution: Both metrics are still experimental and more field data has to be gathered for both. So for now, take these metrics with a grain of salt.<\/p>\n
Is Page Experience going to get more important in the future?<\/h3>\n
Latest developments indicate that the relevance of Page Experience for Google isn\u2019t going to decline. <\/p>\n
With the new features in Search Console and PageSpeed Insights, you have even more ways to analyze your site\u2019s user experience<\/strong>. And even if the Core Web Vitals still don\u2019t have that much influence on search results<\/a>, you should try to keep these metrics in the \u201cgood\u201d range. At the very least, your users will thank you for it!<\/p>\n
![\"good](\"https:\/\/www.seobility.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/good-core-web-vitals.png\")
<\/p>\nIn addition, the introduction of Page Experience as a ranking factor is a sign of Google\u2019s efforts to make website user experience measurable and incorporate it into its algorithm. Even if this factor hasn\u2019t been given much weight so far, it makes clear which major goal Google has been pursuing for a long time: to provide users with the best possible search experience. And a good page experience is essential for that.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: If you want to achieve sustainable success in search, there\u2019s no getting around optimizing your user experience<\/strong> (whether you\u2019re measuring it with Core Web Vitals or with another method).<\/p>\n
For optimizing your Page Experience metrics, we recommend taking a look at our Core Web Vitals Guide<\/a> where we explain the most common issues leading to poor results and how you can fix them.<\/p>\n
Also, watch this space for an upcoming article dedicated to the topic of user experience in general. You can sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the page so you don\u2019t miss it. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s continue with the next major update which had a more specific focus\u2026<\/p>\n
March 2022 Product Reviews Update<\/h2>\n
March saw the rollout of the third product reviews update, building on its two predecessors in 2021. <\/p>\n
\n
Our March 2022 product reviews update is now rolling out for English-language pages. It will take the next few weeks to complete. We've also extended our advice for multi-product reviews. Check out our blog post for details: https:\/\/t.co\/CSZaaFHgXN<\/a><\/p>\n
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) March 23, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
- Rollout of the Page Experience update for desktop search<\/a><\/li>