Google has announced that it will begin using page experience as a ranking signal for desktop searches in February 2022. The rollout will be completed by the end of March 2022. This change is based on the same page experience signals that were rolled out for mobile earlier this year.
Page experience signals include factors such as load time, interactivity, and the stability of content. Google plans to help site owners understand how their desktop pages are performing with regards to page experience using a Search Console report which will launch before desktop becomes a ranking signal.
The same three Core Web Vitals metrics - LCP, FID, and CLS - will now apply to both mobile and desktop ranking. Other aspects of page experience signals, such as HTTPS security and absence of intrusive interstitials, will remain the same. Mobile-friendliness will continue to be a factor for mobile ranking, but not for desktop. When a site has separate desktop and mobile URLs with an appropriate configuration, the desktop signal is based on the URLs that desktop users see.
Google has announced that they will be rolling out a new algorithm in May 2021 that will consider a website's "page experience" when ranking search results. This includes factors like whether the site is secure (HTTPS), how quickly it loads, and how mobile-friendly it is.
The company has provided some resources to help webmasters understand and optimize their page experience in preparation for the upcoming changes. These include a blog post with details on the changes, as well as links to helpful forums and Twitter pages.