Over the past couple of years Coronation Internet Marketing has been stressing to our clients that it’s important to have a mobile responsive website in order to make it easier for potential clients. A mobile responsive or “mobile-friendly” website adapts to the device it is being viewed on. For example, the site will adjust so that it fits on a phone or tablet so that you don’t have to pan or zoom to view the content. Not only does it make it easier to view a site, it also makes it easier for a potential client to contact you by simply tapping a button to call you. They won’t need to memorize your phone number or copy it in order to call you.
We also stressed that Google would eventually change their search algorithm for mobile search so that it would give more love to sites that are mobile-friendly. As we expected, Google recently announced that they are going to expand the use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal in their search algorithm beginning April 21, 2015. Search Engine Watch even called it “Mobilegeddon“.
From their Thursday, February 26, 2015 blog post on Google Webmaster Central:
Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.
According to Smart Insights blog post “Mobile Marketing Statistics 2015” the number of users on a mobile device has surpassed that of desktop users. Plus, Google’s path to purchase report says that search is the most common starting point for mobile research. Their figures show that 48% of people start on a search engine on their phone.
Google Webmaster Tools Mobile Usability Warning Email
Click to enlarge
If you have a Google Webmaster Tools account, you will likely receive an email like this one to the right (click the image to enlarge) if you don’t have a mobile-friendly site that outlines your mobile usability issues.
What does this mean for you?
If you want to maintain or have better ranking in Google’s mobile search results, it’s important to get your site changed in order to be mobile-responsive. This could mean a complete website redesign or, if you are fortunate, adapting your current design to be mobile responsive. Don’t make the mistake of waiting too long and watching your leads slip away to a competitor who has a mobile-friendly website.
Watch the video below to see how to easily test to see if your website is mobile-friendly. Or watch on YouTube via the link below: