As you know, Google changes its algorithms often. Some of them work in the background, which means not only do most businesses have no idea they exist, but also the new algorithms have barely any impact. However, Google also adds or changes algorithms that can significantly impact an insurance agency like yours.
Recently, Google published an announcement about its page experience update. While it didn’t receive much response, this is still a big deal. That’s why, as the owner of an insurance agency, you need to understand what this update is and how it might impact your business.
Update Categories
The page experience update includes four ranking categories.
- Core Web Vitals
- HTTPS
- Mobile-Friendly
- No Intrusion Interstitials
Of the four, the Core Web Vitals category has already gone through several changes this year. As a result, they ensure better accuracy and fairness of metrics. That means the changes to this particular category enhances the functionality of most websites.
Regarding No Intrusion Interstitials, this prevents users from gaining access to content when first visiting websites that Google considers questionable or those that don’t provide users with a positive experience.
Completing the Rollout
On Twitter, Google confirmed it completed the page experience update rollout. Although the announcement got little fanfare, it’s still something that you need to understand. The reason is that it involves different ranking factors and could change how your agency appears in search results.
Core Web Vitals
At one time, people thought the Core Web Vitals didn’t have any significant impact or consequence on businesses. More than likely, they formed this opinion because they didn’t notice any change from Google’s earlier rollout of the page experience factor that only included mobile-friendliness and HTTPS. However, the new page experience update factors in all four ranking categories. This is getting people’s attention.
Especially when it comes to the Core Web Vitals category, it’s important to understand that this plays a big role in ranking. So, based on your insurance agency’s website, it may or may not have a huge impact. If you don’t take the time to understand the update and its potential effect on your agency, you could see a drop in traffic but not connect the two.
Even with the rollout complete, many things remain unclear. For example, no one’s sure which website links will increase ratings and which won’t do anything. One important note is the ranking signals for the page experience differ from other rollouts. Rather than keep things hush-hush, Google chose to make the ranking factors completely transparent.
The good news is that you can find information about the ranking signals that have the greatest effect by doing a little research. With information readily available, take advantage of the opportunity to learn all you can about the Page Experience Update and how it might impact your insurance agency.
Increase in Online Competition
Insurance is just one of many industries that depends more and more on the internet. Agencies rely on their websites to rank high in Google searches so that, ultimately, they can sell policies.
To accommodate all the visitors coming to your site and make work easier for your agents, you can have a professional website developed that automatically separates people according to coverage type. This can help streamline the user’s experience and give your agents specific targets.
If Google’s page experience update warrants changes for your business, you can use several strategies to perfectly align your website. Perhaps the simplest is to remove unnecessary elements. Address any images, videos, or ads on your site that slow down the response time. That way, users can get to the important information faster. Not only that, but eliminating distractions also gives users a better visual experience and improves site navigation.
The easier it is for someone to find the information they want and then take action, the more policies your agents will sell.
The Takeaway
So, the takeaway on this is to learn all you can about Google’s new page experience update to determine if and how it would affect your insurance agency. Usure if your website is up to par? Contact us today for a free consultation.