Google has begun rolling out the page experience update for desktop on Feb 22, 2022 (Twosday). The update will roll out slowly over the next several weeks and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2022.
Similar to the page experience report for mobile, Google had launched a dedicated report for desktop pages earlier in the Search Console report, so webmasters could understand how well their site has fared in the eyes of Google.
Google’s Official Announcement
Google had earlier rolled out the page experience update for mobile in June 2021. And it was also announced the page experience update will be extended to desktop in February 2022.
As expected, Google took to Twitter to announce the rollout of the page experience update for desktop. The update is expected to be complete by the end of March 2022.
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
Page Experience Signals
The Page Experience update involves factors same as that of the mobile, except the mobile-friendliness test (which is obvious why not to be included). Here are the overall page experience signals that Google would take into consideration for ranking sites:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
- First Input Delay (FID)
- HTTPS Security
- Absence of Intrusive Interstitials
To make things easier and keep you informed of your site’s compliance against the page experience signals, the desktop page experience report is already made available in the Google Search Console Report.
What’s Next – Dealing With This Update
Similar to the page experience update for mobile, websites may not see a drastic change in their site’s rankings during the rollout of the update.
Having said that, in a Twitter discussion related to the page experience update (mobile), John Mueller hints that the page experience signals replace the previous speed ranking factors of Google.
We try to avoid unnecessary duplication in our code, so i would assume this replaces the previous speed ranking factors.
— I am John (@JohnMu) July 21, 2021
Hence, if your site is not well optimized for the page experience signals, it is high time that you start monitoring your site’s page experience signals and optimize it for a better user experience. We have also put together a detailed guide to help you optimize your WordPress site for speed.
Note: The rollout of the update was quicker than expected without any drastic fluctuations in SERP and finally concluded on March 3, 2022.
The page experience rollout is now complete for desktop.
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) March 3, 2022
