Google algorithm update for January 2022

Google took an almost unprecedented break during the first two weeks of January. In fact, the only major announcement they made during the month was that page experience will roll out on desktops in February. Therefore, it is a great time to take another look at this update that the company first rolled out on mobile units in November 2021. There are at least five factors to consider when preparing for the February desktop rollout.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):

The Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): should be under 2.5 seconds. This is the speed that the largest image or text block loads.

First Input Delay

The First Input Display should be less than 100 milliseconds. This measures when a user initiates an action, and the server can handle that action.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):

Many rapid layout shifts can be problematic and very frustrating for users. Google defines these shifts as occurring whenever a visible element changes its position from one rendered frame to the next. The total score should be less than 0.1.

HTTPS

You need to have robust security certificates signed and installed on your website. Make sure that they have not expired. You should use permanent redirects to automatically move viewers from unsecured pages to secure ones. Take a look at your site to ensure you have no noindex tags on HTTPS pages.
No intrusive interstitials
Your content is the most important thing on your site. Therefore, make sure that any ads, banners and other add-ons are not interfering with people being able to interact with the content on your website.

While Google gave everyone a short holiday in January, we were still working hard. If we can help you with your website, please get in touch with us. We love being your problem solving experts.

Refernces:
https://www.seroundtable.com/google-page-experience-update-coming-to-desktop-soon-32733.html
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/experience/page-experience
https://web.dev/lcp/
https://web.dev/fid/
https://web.dev/cls/
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2016/08/helping-users-easily-access-content-on