How to Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly for the Google Update
Google recently announced the use of their new algorithm for mobile search results, which will affect how your site is ranked. Mobile friendly websites are, in a sense, rewarded, while sites that are not optimized for mobile devices may find it harder to rank in the search results.
Why Should You Care?
Yes, this is strictly for Google searches on mobile devices, not for searches done on a desktop; however, in a press release, PR Newswire stated that the number of active mobile devices has surpassed the world’s population. Pair that with 80% of internet users that own and use a smartphone to search the internet (Smart Insights), and anyone can understand why Google would put an emphasis on mobile-friendly websites.
Not only should your website have the ability to be accessed through mobile devices, it should also have a consistent experience across all devices. comScore found that the majority of consumers are “multiscreening”, which means they access sites on both mobile or desktop. Having a responsive website that has the capacity to provide an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices is of great importance.
2 Steps To A Mobile Site
- Use the Google Mobile Friendly Check tool (click here to test) to determine if your website meets the criteria.
- If you have found that your site does not meet Google’s mobile-friendly criteria, then you must determine whether:
- Your site uses third-party software. This might only require a few clicks, and Google provides step-by-step instructions on how you can make your third-party site mobile.
- You want to work with someone to design your website to be responsive. When working with a developer, Google has 6 key points to think about, and to ensure the outcome of your site.
- You want to try and make your website is mobile-friendly on your own. This is not recommended unless you are a web developer. There are a lot of technical details involved; however, Google does provide a resource for this as well.
Almost half of all consumers will not return to a webpage if it didn’t load properly on their mobile device, according to The Social Media Hat. Think about all the people who visit your website on a mobile device, if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you just lost half of those potential customers. That is a big loss to any company.
Google Mobile Friendly Website Experts
Ensure your website meets Google’s mobile-friendly standards with expert guidance from our team. Contact us today for a consultation!