Today (April 21, 2015), Google is implementing “Mobilegeddon” which will negatively affect websites that are setup for mobile-friendly SEO (often called responsive design). This change will favor those websites that are mobile-friendly over sites that are not mobile-friendly. If you’re website is not mobile-friendly you need to initiate a website redesign that includes a mobile-friendly/responsive design.
Mobile-Friendly SEO
Google, who has 65% of the search traffic on the web wants sites to load quickly on mobile devices. They also want the site to be easy to navigate on mobile devices. If websites do not pass their tests, they will be penalized and find their site much lower on the organic list. In a statement, Google said the want consumers to find content that’s not only relevant and timely, but also easy to read and interact with on smaller mobile screens.
This update will not affect your SEO results from desktop searches, only mobile-based searches (which have increased significantly over the last 2-3 years). Just over half of all searches done on Google are now performed through mobile devices.
Mobile-Friendly SEO Test
You can go to this “Mobile-Friendly SEO” test page to see how your website fairs. If it doesn’t pass just give us a call and we can make sure your site moves back to the position it was in before Google implemented this change. Running this test on the Fortune 500 companies showed that 44% failed and thus will be penalized on mobile search results starting today.
What Do You Need to Do?
Ontarget can put something in place for you that will pass the test very quickly and then work with you on a responsive design that matches the needs of your customers and potential customers. Today, it’s important to optimize your website information for mobile devices. A well designed mobile-friendly website can mean the difference between a sale and someone hitting the back button and going to your competition.
Make sure you work with someone that’s honest and understands the marketing side of SEO (search engine optimization). Ontarget is a digital agency that understands the technology and marketing required to make our clients successful. Please let us know if you need any help.