Mobile friendly – Google are getting ready for spring cleaning on a big scale, they are making changes to the search algorithm! Is your website ready, is it adapted with a mobile friendly responsive design?
What does it all mean?
It is all about making it easier for people while searching on the move. In just over a month, Google will be making changes to how websites are ranked in search results. From April 21st 2015 Google will start giving preference to sites that are easy to read on mobile devices, in other words, websites that are mobile friendly, with a mobile interface. The changes will help users find information quickly and efficiently when they search on a mobile device by discovering more mobile friendly content. The view will be responsive; adopting the easiest view for easy reading and will therefore change automatically to suit the mobile device the user is searching on, whether it is a mobile phone, tablet or other.
How will this affect my website?
A website will not rank as well in Google searches if it is not mobile friendly and for that reason it could be losing out on search traffic. For a business to make the best use of its online presence it really cannot afford to lose any visitors, or prospective customers, all relevant traffic needs to be adequately directed. If your competitors have made changes before you, they have gained an effective advantage but this can be quickly rectified.
How do I know what to do next?
Don’t panic! There has been a considerable amount of scare mongering attached to the announced changes but there are plenty of solutions, help and guidance available. Please do not feel intimidated or bullied into making changes before understanding what is necessary. Google have even provided several tools to help assess a website, such as a mobile friendly test or how to generate a mobile usability report. It is possible to enter a web page url and discover how friendly your website is
www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
A website can be adapted to meet all of the changes or a new website can be built to ensure relevant, high quality search results are optimized on any device.
Talk to your web designer or please do not hesitate to contact our team if you have any questions or concerns about these changes, we are happy to help. We can also provide a free, no obligation assessment for you.
If you would like to know what questions to ask your web developer, here is a guide :
