Page Experience

What is Page Experience?

Page Experience is a set of signals Google uses to measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page, beyond the informational value of the content. Introduced as a ranking factor in 2021, it combines several existing signals into a unified concept.

Page Experience Signals

Signal	What it measures	Status
Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP)	Loading, interactivity, visual stability	✅ Active ranking signal
Mobile-friendliness	Usability on mobile devices	✅ Active ranking signal
HTTPS	Secure connection	✅ Active ranking signal
No intrusive interstitials	Pop-ups that block content on mobile	✅ Active ranking signal
Safe browsing	No malware or deceptive content	✅ Active (manual action trigger)

Intrusive Interstitials to Avoid

Google penalises pages that show intrusive pop-ups to mobile users immediately after arriving from search. These include:

• Popups covering the main content before the user has read it
• Standalone interstitials that must be dismissed to access content
• Layouts where the above-the-fold portion is all interstitial

Exceptions: age verification, cookie consent dialogs, login gates for private content, and small banners that don't obscure content.

How to Audit Page Experience

1. Check Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console (under Experience)
2. Run Google's Mobile-Friendly Test
3. Verify HTTPS on all pages (no mixed content)
4. Review pop-up behaviour on mobile

Technical decision

Correct use	Page experience combines usability signals and should support useful content, not replace relevance or justify chasing a single laboratory score.
Validation	Review field Core Web Vitals by template and device, HTTPS and intrusive interactions, then validate each fix on the live user journey.

Primary references

• developers.google.com
• web.dev

Related concepts

Continue the audit with these related concepts: Core Web Vitals, Page Speed, Mobile-First Indexing, HTTPS / SSL Certificate, INP (Interaction to Next Paint).