When Google announces a change to their ranking system, generally two things happen: 1) A logical response from a few ‘early adopters’, and 2) Weeping and gnashing of teeth from everyone else.
In almost every instance, the Google rank you fought so hard to gain is about to do a nosedive. What’s the fuss? Three words:
Mobile-Enabled Access.
“It’s over,” Google has announced to websites that can’t be read on a smartphone. Mobile-friendly is now (as of April 21) a large ranking factor for whether your website shows up in search results. This is another way of saying a lack of mobile-friendliness means Google is knocking you down a few rungs.
Yes, since we seemingly can’t unplug ourselves from smartphones, Google realizes that we’re all sick of:
a. Trying to read microscopic print on the mobile-unfriendly sites
b. Attempting to hit a link on said site that is the size of a gnat’s ear lobe
c. Scrolling around endlessly to find the ‘buy’ or ‘contact’ button
a. Trying to read microscopic print on the mobile-unfriendly sites
b. Attempting to hit a link on said site that is the size of a gnat’s ear lobe
c. Scrolling around endlessly to find the ‘buy’ or ‘contact’ button
So, in an attempt to save you from madness – and possibly to aid Google’s 800-lb gorilla status – if your site is not mobile-friendly by the deadline, you can expect your ranking to slip slowly at first (about 30 days), then more rapidly if you continue to ignore. But there’s good news too.
Moving to mobile-friendliness is a good strategy overall, even without the rank threat. In a 2015 report completed by Pew Research, it was found nearly 65% of American with smartphones use it as their “key entry point” for online access.
And once mobile searchers don’t like what they see with your ‘old’ site? They’re gone. Surveys show that 61% of mobile users are unlikely to return to a site they had trouble navigating.
Remarkably, some contractors will not heed the warning or update their sites. If you’re in a good mood, please knock on their cave and give ‘em the bad news. For the rest of you, try this:
- Easy test for mobile-friendliness: At your next meeting, have everyone enter your site on their smartphones. Once there, have them click through navigation, test links, send an email through your contact link and fill out an online form. The amount of ease, frustration or potential profanity will give you a decent cross-section of how your customers will feel. Take note.
- Second easy test: Type in
in and see what happens. Provided you eventually show up (!), click your website link to see if you still land on the correct page. If you fail both of these tests, you need to call your web dude and give him/her strict orders to upgrade your site. - Content Responsiveness. If you’re using a content management system, make sure you’re using a responsive design theme. If not, update to a newer version. This could be the answer to your problems, but many ignore simple fixes.
- Google Goodness? Check your site for other potential issues with the aid of Google’s Webmaster tools. Visit https://support.google.com/webmasters/, then sign into your Google account to find data, tools and diagnostics for a Google-friendly site. Google knows how you can be found by Google. Seriously. Let them show you how it’s done.
There are several other ways to safeguard too, but not enough room in this article, so request the free report, “21 Ways to Boost Your Website Performance,” by emailing a polite request to freestuff@hudsonink.com. We’ll send it right out.
The days of “desktop only” navigation and rank strategy are numbered. This is just another evolution of search engine optimization. Here’s hoping that you benefit by being prepared.
