For years now, mobile usability has been a factor in Google’s search
algorithm. Websites that are optimised suitably for use on mobile
devices rank higher than their non-optimised counterparts, even on
desktop devices. But until now, that rating factor has been both limited
and ambiguous.
Beside from a mobile-friendly tag associated with
various sites in mobile search results, it hasn’t been entirely clear
which factors Google considers when calculating mobile rankings or how
many sites are currently affected. Because of this, many business owners
have postponed or avoided optimising their sites for mobile devices,
and have survived to tell about it.
Beginning April 21, that’s all going to alter.
Beginning
on April 21, new algorithm will be gradually rolled out worldwide,
affecting mobile searches in all languages in all corners of the globe.
Scope of the update
If
you’re aware that Google already considers mobile usability as part of
its rating calculations, you might wonder why this April 21 deadline,
dubbed “mobilegeddon” is important.
It’s true that many of
Google’s updates are actually information refreshes and tweaks that hold
small bearing on existing search rankings. However, Zineb Ait Bahajji, a
member of Google’s Webmaster Trends team, was quoted at SMX Munich as
saying that the new mobile-friendly algorithm change will have more of
an impact on search rankings than either Panda or Penguin, of the
largest and most impactful search algorithm updates Google has ever
launched.
For now, they don’t know much about the update itself,
so it’s not entirely clear what that impact will be. They do know that
it will change the way Google evaluates the mobile-friendliness of
websites, but they don’t know what new factors will be added or how
dramatically these factors will be able to change a website’s search
visibility. Given Bahajji’s comments, it’s reasonable to guess that the
gigantic majority of non-optimized sites on the net could see
significant decreases in search visibility.
The Trend toward Mobile Search
By
some estimates, over 60 percent of all Google searches are now
performed on mobile devices, so it makes sense that Google desires to
capitalize on this traffic and make sure the best feasible experience
for its users.
In
addition to the upcoming algorithm update, Google is already beginning
to roll out rating changes based on knowledge from indexed apps of
signed-in users. This may have a major impact on how search results are
displayed as well as what type of results are displayed. While
traditional search results exclusively display sites, future search
results could focus on apps and other mobile tools.
However search
results progress, it’s clear that the companies who cater to mobile
user’s best will earn the most visibility from Google.
How to prepare
If
your site is already mobile-friendly, you won’t have much to worry
about. However, if you’ve not yet implemented a mobile strategy for your
online presence, now is the critical time to get it done? Follow the
steps:
- Make sure the mobile version of your site is active
& functional. Responsive designs are the most popular, but you can
also have a separate hosted mobile version of your site. Google doesn’t
have a preference, as long as mobile users experience isn’t interrupted.
- Make sure Google’s mobile bots can crawl your site. If Google can’t see it, it may as well not even be there.
- Check
each individual page of your site on a mobile device to make sure
navigability. Because your home page is mobile friendly doesn’t mean the
remainder of your site is.
You may find the following resources helpful:
- The Definitive Guide to Mobile SEO
- 5 WordPress Plug-in to Help Generate a Mobile-Friendly website
- The Key Ingredients to a Winning Mobile Content Promotion Strategy
Google
additionally offers tools you can use to check whether your site is
mobile-friendly. First, you can use the appropriately named
Mobile-Friendly Check to see whether your site meets preliminary
qualifications. It’s not entirely clear whether this checklist will
cover all the factors the April 21 update will introduce, but since its
coming straight from Google, it’s safe to assume it’s reliable. Google
Webmaster Tools also contains a convenient Mobile Usability Document you
can run to examine your web-site as Google sees it. In the event you
find any errors or discrepancies, you have roughly month to get all of
them fixed.
This April 21 Google update looks to be the largest
mobile-related algorithm change we’ve ever seen, but I’d bet funds that
it isn’t the last. In the event you don’t have a mobile version of your
site in place by April 21, your search visibility could be seriously
delayed.
At this point, you may not need a dedicated app or all
the bells & whistles of a dynamic mobile user experience, but
beware: Google desires its mobile users to be happy. It’s on you to get
the job done.
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