Google have just announced that, in February 2022, they will be beginning to use page experience as a ranking signal for desktop. This follows their recent rollout for mobile that occurred June-August 2021. Below is the table of what factors are involved in creating the page experience signal.
| Factor | Mobile | Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | Yes | Yes |
| Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | Yes | Yes |
| First Input Delay (FID) | Yes | Yes |
| HTTPS Security | Yes | Yes |
| Absence of intrusive interstitials | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile friendliness | Yes | (Not applicable) |
What does this mean for BigCommerce stores? Our general opinion is that it will be a minor ranking signal, with unique quality content still being the best way to improve your ranking. If you have close competition in rankings with your competitors, it’s a good idea to have a look thorough Tag Rocket’s Core Web Vitals Report to see if you can’t find some easy fixes to improve your page experience. While you’re at it – take a look at Tony’s article “BigCommerce Cornerstone LCP Quick Fix“. Even if your theme isn’t Cornerstone, the techniques may still apply and you can go from red to green with just a couple of edits!
