In late February, Google announced yet another algorithm update, this one designed to help the increasing number of mobile users locate the info, products and services they're searching for quickly and easily. Slated for April 21, 2015, the algorithm update addresses the visibility of mobile-friendly websites and more relevant app content in the organic search engine results, and for now, will only affect results on mobile devices.
Mobile searches have steadily gained in recent years. In fact, of the more than 11 billion searches on Google each month, around half are from mobile searches, and in November 2014, mobile surpassed desktop. Google's algorithm update clearly reflects the trend towards mobile searches. The search engine giant will now use mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal, giving more visibility to mobile-friendly and responsive websites versus their non-mobile friendly counterparts.
How do make your website mobile-friendly or responsive?
Mobile-friendly websites are easy to view on mobile devices, including Smartphones and tablets. Essentially, users are able to accomplish the same goal on a mobile-friendly website that they can on a desktop or laptop. Mobile-friendly sites load fast, are simple to navigate and make it easy for users to find important content. They utilize minimal scrolling and avoid Flash, making it easy for users to get from point A to point B.
Responsive websites change appearance based on what device a user is viewing the site on. For example, a website being viewed on a Smartphone will display only necessary images and copy, and the layout will change so that users have an optimal view. If you want to check out some examples of responsive websites, view some of our case studies. Each website featured utilizes responsive design.
What does this mean for your business?
If your website isn't mobile-friendly or responsive, it's time to make some changes. You've probably put a considerable amount of time and effort into search engine optimization (SEO) - the process of optimizing your website in order to increase its rank in the organic search engine results. If your website isn't mobile friendly or responsive, these efforts aren't going to be as effective. When the changes launch, non-mobile friendly and non-responsive websites will potentially lose 1/3 of their traffic.
Want to know if your website is mobile friendly? Just get in touch with us. We can tell you if your website is currently mobile-friendly, and, if it's not, what needs to be done to fix that.