New Google changes: is your website mobile friendly?
Google recently announced on its webmaster central blog that they would account for the mobile-friendliness of your website for ranking purposes starting on April 21st. If you want to stay ahead of competitors with a higher website ranking and more efficient marketing, then this article is for you.
What does all of this mean?
If your site is not ready for mobile devices, your website could drop in page rankings. For businesses with mobile friendly websites, this may result in slower page rank growth, but for businesses without mobile friendly websites, this is your opportunity to rank higher in search engine results.
Here are some statistics done by a Local Vox Research to show the importance of a mobile friendly website:
- Just 53% of small businesses have a web site.
- 53% of American consumers use their smartphones to access search a minimum of once per day.
- 46% of consumers will NOT return to a mobile site that is not functioning properly
- 48% of mobile visitors who visit a site that is not mobile-friendly felt that the company just did not care about their business.
- 71% of mobile browsers expect web pages to load nearly as quickly or faster as web pages on their desktop computers.
- Research indicates that by the year 2016, mobile searches will take over PC searches.
How can I recognize if I am mobile ready?
Luckily, Google has made it easy for you to figure out if your site is ready. Google’s mobile friendly test tool is located at this link. Simply enter your website’s address and it will tell you if your site is mobile friendly or not.
If my website is not mobile ready, what are my options?
There is no need to panic, but to be competitive you must make your website mobile friendly. The first step for you to take depends on several factors specific to your situation. If you are using a major content management system, such as WordPress or Joomla it’s likely there is a plug-in that can make your website mobile friendly.
On the other hand, if the work is more complicated, the simplest solutions will be to consult a specialized company that can guide you towards the best option.
We can help make your websites, mobile friendly. Contact us and we will provide you with a free assessment of your site’s mobile readiness.
