What is it and what does it mean for my business’s website?
On April 21st 2015, Google are rolling out their latest rankings algorithm change. This time it’s main effect will be felt by any website owners who have not made their website mobile-friendly (mobile responsive).
Considering that smartphone web searches have almost overtaken traditional desktop searches, I’m surprised that this had not already been considered as major factor in a site’s ranking. Perhaps it has been to some extent but for now however Google are confirming that your site will be penalised for not having a mobile optimised website.
If you’re currently receiving say approx. 40% of traffic to your site from mobile devices then this is traffic that could disappear or certainly diminish if your site is not correctly set up to be mobile-friendly.
How do I know if my website is mobile-friendly or not?
Your website should resize to different device screen sizes automatically i.e. there should be no need to pinch or zoom if viewing on a mobile or tablet. If your website does this there’s a good chance it is mobile-friendly already, however there are two really quick tests that will confirm this for you and whether it passes Google’s idea of “mobile-friendly” or not:
Test 1
First take the Google mobile-friendly test here: Google Mobile-Friendly Test
Test 2
If you pass that test, you will want to make double sure everything is mobile-friendly. We would advise Googling your own site on a mobile device. You should notice a “mobile-friendly” tag attached to your site if it is correctly configured like so:
What to do next?
If your website has failed either of the above tests then it would be highly advisable to seek some assistance. We can have a look at your website for you and advise on what should be done. Unfortunately there is often no quick fix. Depending on your website set up, it may be possible to make some minor adjustments or you may require a full redesign.
Either way, the sooner you make your website mobile-friendly, the better it will perform in searches in the long run. If your business or blog is highly dependent on organic search traffic (Google searches) then there really is no choice, it must be sorted, the clock is ticking!
Competitive Advantage
Remember, your competitors may have already updated their websites for this upcoming change. Therefore it is highly important you do the same or face losing out on mobile searches to them. You may also gain from updating to a mobile-friendly website as the opposite of this is true, your competitors may not have done this yet! #FoodForThought 🙂
Contact us today if you would like to update your website to a mobile responsive website.
