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Will Your Website Survive Mobilegeddon?

Google stated, “Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. Thischange will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our searchresults.”

First, let’s discuss what mobile-friendly means. Although Googlemakes that call when it comes to search ranking on mobile devices,ultimately that decision comes down to your website users. Mobile-friendly websites take into account how your users interact withcontent and are built in a way to optimize and facilitate conversions.There are several design and technical elements that go into thisapproach, from the size of your text to how your site is coded on thebackend to tell search engines how to display your content. Whatused to be a best practice, Google is now making a requirement.

According to eMarketer, mobile usage is projected to surpassdesktop browsing this year. When visitors arrive on your website withtheir mobile device, how is their overall experience? We are officiallypast the mobile Tipping Point. This report from comScore shows that mobile usage (mobile apps, combined withmobile web) as a whole accounts for 60% of time spent, while desktop-based digital media consumption makes upthe remaining 40%.

What Does this Mean for Businesses?

If your site is deemed not mobile-friendly, you will see a significant drop in mobile traffic. Websites that are mobile-friendly will be favored in mobile search rankings, and those that aren’t, will be pushed down into oblivion.

Take a look at your analytics to see how much traffic your website currently gets through mobile organic search. Canyou afford up to a 60% drop in website traffic? Our guess...probably not.

Does Your Site Pass the Google Test?

Those of you that have a mobile website or responsive design aren’tnecessary safe either. Those tricky design and technical elements couldbe lurking under the surface. Fortunately Google has come out with theMobile-Friendly testing tool that will let you know how your website isdoing.

Take the Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your site has some work to dobefore April 21.

If you take the Mobile-Friendly Test and it yields good results, you have asignificant advantage over your competition.

Mobilegeddon Survival Tips

For those with a glass half-full outlook on life, this shift in Google’salgorithm is an opportunity to pay attention to your mobile visitors. Thetrend in mobile usage isn’t going away, so now is the time to build a user-friendly mobile experience to optimize conversions for a large portion of your website traffic.

Here are some quick steps you can take to make sure your website isn’t impacted with the update:

1. Analyze your analytics. What’s the bounce rate on mobile visitors? Are there certain pages where youfrequently lose mobile traffic? Look for signals to show you that your site or certain pages on your site haveroom for improvement.

2. Consider how mobile users use your website. There is often a difference in how mobile users browse onmobile vs. desktop. If Google is treating your desktop and mobile sites differently, so should you.

3. Hire a designer/developer. If you don’t have the in-house resources to correct any mobile-unfriendlinessissues by April 21, hire an agency for help. Keep in mind no matter who you hire, they need time to actuallyperform the fix, so if the Mobile-Friendly Test raises red flags, get on it now.

Did you pass the Google test?

If so, great, you should be good to go! If not, and you think Mobilegeddon could mean trouble for your website, don'tworry we're here to help:

Topics: Search Engine Optimization, Mobile