Key Takeaways
John Mueller emphasizes practical execution over intentions for improving user experience and search rankings.
Google values concrete outcomes in page experience, not just good intentions.
John Mueller from Google emphasized that although aiming for a positive user experience is praiseworthy, it's the actual implementation of that intention that carries significance in relation to the benefits of search ranking.
The conversation took place during one of Google's office hours.
Mueller emphasized Google's perspective on user experience, noting that the company prioritizes the concrete outcome of a good page experience rather than the mere intention behind it.
He underlined that while having good intentions and investing effort into enhancing page experience might align with website owners' goals, Google's evaluation focuses on the actual results and impact on users.
Keep in mind things like page experience and core web vitals are important, but they're just a small part of what affects how Google ranks search results.
Therefore, even if these areas get better, they might not hugely change where a website shows up in search results.
The question asked by a participant was:
Does Google treat link prefetch, pre-render, DNS resolve, etc, tags as a signal that the website is attempting to give its users a good user experience?
In response, Mueller said:
So when these things are used correctly so that your users benefit from a better experience, then this will be reflected in real user metrics for the Core Web Vitals and as such be considered by search as well. What matters for Google is not that a website is attempting to give users a good page experience but rather, if it’s actually giving users a good page experience. Make sure that what you implement is functional.
Mueller's perspective underscores the need for practical implementation rather than mere intentions.