Technology has seen rapid change in the last five years. Everywhere you turn information is shared and digested. In the last four years alone, smartphone usage rose 394% and tablet usage rocketed 1721%. And, mobile traffic is only going to become more common as many use their smartphones as their sole entry point to the World Wide Web.
Internet usage has seen dramatic changes. In fact, how we talk about the internet even has changed. Have you ever used the phrase, “Google it” when referring to searching for something? Google has been a big player in the evolution of the internet. And, once again Google aims to enhance our online experience with a new announcement.
Since April 21, Google has been giving mobile-friendly websites a boost by providing a higher ranking via its search algorithm on smartphones.
Mobile-friendly sites will rank better.
This is great news for those who have a responsive design website. Or who have a mobile- friendly design. According to Google's blog, the plan is to expand mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. Meaning, if your site is mobile-friendly, it will rank much higher on a phone or tablet.
“Google’s push toward mobile-first design and their clear public stance on this issue strongly signal that mobile-friendly sites are going to have an advantage over time.” Dr. Peter J. Meyers, Moz, "7 Days After Mobilegeddon: How Far Did the Sky Fall?"
Businesses who are already mobile-friendly may see an increase in mobile traffic due to this recent change. This is because their website will rank higher when searching on a phone. Many businesses haven’t updated their design and code in several years. Subsequently their websites are not well designed and suited for mobile use. Thus, they may notice a significant decline due to this change. With active mobile devices passing human population, it has become detrimental not having a mobile-friendly website. Google's new algorithm puts the final nail in the non-mobile site's coffin.
Is your website mobile-friendly?
How is Google looking at your site? Does it register it as mobile-friendly? Is your mobile traffic suffering from not being compliant to Google’s mobile standards? Find out with Google’s mobile-friendly test.
Google released a simple tool that you can use to test your site’s mobile-friendless. This tool will run your site through several checks and will tell you if your site will render on a mobile device successfully. Give it a try, test your website.
Didn’t get the test result you wanted, don’t fret! We would be more than happy to talk to you about mobile-friendly, responsive web design. Give us a shout!
Read on - The Aftermath of Mobilegeddon - What really happened?