Are you ready for Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm update?
For the first time, Google has pre-announced an algorithm update with a specific date, and, unsurprisingly, it’s focused on mobile.
On the 21st of April, 2015, ‘mobile friendly’ will become an important ranking factor in the mobile search results. Many websites are already receiving alerts warning them that their site isn’t currently performing for mobile devices. If this is you, then here’s what you need to know.
The changes will affect mobile searches worldwide, across all languages, and are intended to improve the value of search for mobile users. Subsequently it will be easier to find relevant and high-quality results that are optimised for these devices.
With up to 40% of searchers visiting a website through mobile, it’s not hard to see why the algorithm is concentrating on this area. John Mueller of Google reminds businesses of some compelling stats around the success of mobile, including the fact that 61% of people are unlikely to return to a website that they’ve had trouble with, with an additional 40% claiming that they’d visit a competitor’s website instead. In other words, it could be detrimental to your business if you’re not mobile friendly.
Luckily, Google have been kind by giving webmasters time to prepare. We recommend firstly establishing how your website currently performs in terms of mobile. You can do this through Google’s easy to use Mobile-Friendly Test, where you simply enter your website url and it will give you the thumbs up or down. (Also illustrating the display of your website on mobile.)
If you find that your website isn’t ticking all the boxes, then head to the Get started section for step by step advice to create a mobile friendly website.
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