Having a mobile or fully responsive website has never been more important
How easy do we make it for others to do business with us? This is a question that every business should consider. Google has presumably asked themselves this same question recently, as they are preparing to address how they serve their mobile audience.
Google has reported extreme growth in mobile users on their search engine and expect mobile to surpass desktop searches this year. Considering this, Google aims to give the mobile visitor the best experience by recommending sites that are mobile friendly. Gone are the days of sites that require you to “pinch in zoom” and welcomed are sites that are either fully responsive or mobile friendly.
How Will This Affect Google Rankings?
Taken right from Google’s announcement, “This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.” This is a very bold statement and is considered the most important and highest impact algorithm update yet from Google. The leader in the search industry clearly feels strongly about delivering not only the most relevant, but also the highest quality results that are optimized for a given device.
Google does not share all the details of this update, so businesses will not know the full impact until after the April 21st update. Speculation is that non-mobile friendly websites will not be punished or discounted like those that take part in black hat techniques, but rather sites that are mobile friendly will be heavily rewarded. This is one of the first times that Google has said, “You need to do this!” Search Engine Optimizers all over the world would wish Google was always this direct.
One requirement from Google is that all indexed pages on a website be mobile friendly, not just the home page. This means that creating a simple one page mobile landing page will not suffice. Google indexes several pages on a given site and they will all need to be mobile friendly.
What Should You Do About It?
The first step is to consult with whomever built your website. There will be multiple options for you ranging from creating a mobile version of your site to a complete rebuild to make it 100% responsive.
Inquiries from clients are on the rise regarding this Google algorithm update, and the solutions vary from client to client based on several factors. If you have any questions regarding your website and its mobile friendliness, start to explore your options. After all, you’ve worked hard to establish your visibility and Google ranking. Are you prepared to keep it?
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