Google has recently announced that page experience indicators will be included in Google Search ranking as of May, 2021. This will change the SEO algorithm that determines how high or low your dental website ranks in search results. This is a great opportunity to optimize your website and make it show up higher in the search results when someone is looking for a dentist in their area.

This news likely raises three key questions.

Here are the answers:

What is the Page Experience update?

Quite simply, this update will measure the experience that your online visitors have while interacting with your website. It is being incorporated as part of Google’s long-term strategy to make web experiences more useful and enjoyable. Websites that provide a mobile-friendly user experience that makes it easy for visitors to find and absorb the information they are looking for will receive positive rankings and enjoy improved search results over websites that do not.

How will it impact my dental website?

The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy for most websites, dental websites included, are focused on readability. Readability will still be important after this update, but the website’s functionality will become increasingly important to a business’ search results. If your website ranks highly in terms of readability and functionality, Google will send more patients to your website via their Google searches. This leads to increased traffic, and eventually an increase in patients visiting your office.

What should I do to prepare?

Google has identified the metrics it will use to rank a website’s user experience. These new ‘Core Web Vitals’ include load time, interactivity and visual stability, plus other vitals such as mobile friendliness, safe browsing, HTTPS security and mobile pop-up algorithm.

Working with an SEO-expert to ensure your site creates an efficient, safe, pleasant and mobile-optimized experience is the best way to get ahead of this update, and to make sure it increases your search results rather than decreases them. A marketing agency like Vitamin D Marketing & Design can help ensure your site is interactive, loads quickly and is visually stable. If all of these elements are addressed and optimized, the Google Page Experience update will be a great opportunity to increase your web presence, attracting more patients and growing your dental practice.