Are you ready for MobileGeddon?

Are you ready for MobileGeddon?

Monday 27th April 2015

Have you ever tapped on a Google Search result on your mobile phone, only to find yourself looking at a page where the text was too small, the links were tiny, and you had to scroll sideways to see all the content? This usually happens when the website has not been optimized to be viewed on a mobile phone.

This can be a frustrating experience for our mobile searchers. Last year, to make it easier for people to find the information that they're looking for, Google added a "mobile-friendly" label to their mobile search results. This shows Google users which websites are mobile-friendly and which websites are not.

A page is eligible for the "mobile-friendly" label if it meets the following criteria as detected by Googlebot:

• Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
• Uses text that is readable without zooming
• Sizes content to the screen so users don't have to scroll horizontally or zoom
• Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped

Why make a website mobile-friendly?

Imagine a user looking at your site on a mobile device. Can the user easily read your page and find the necessary information or is too hard to use? The images below should make it quite clear why mobile-friendly websites are the way forward.

"MobileGeddon"

Last week (on 21 April 2015) Google made a massive change to it's algorithm that is designed to favour sites that are optimised for the mobile internet. This change could already be negatively impacting your site and business, as announced on their blog. Many are calling this change "MobileGeddon".

Google tweaks its algorithm on a daily basis as it battles with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialists who try to game the system on behalf of their clients. But this is a big change. Google has given plenty of warning, telling developers about the change in a blog post in February and providing a simple tool to check whether sites were mobile friendly (click on the link below to test your website).

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

The search firm is trying to reassure website owners that this won't be an earthquake which turns their businesses upside down but quite a subtle evolution. But SEO specialists say this looks like the biggest change since 2011 - and for some that will unearth some unpleasant memories.

For any online retailer, appearing on page one of Google's search results can make all the difference between a profitable business and one heading for the scrapyard. Google's move to make mobile capabilities more important in search rankings seems eminently sensible as our phones become the key route to finding goods and services online. But over the next few weeks we can expect cries of pain from those whom the all-powerful search algorithm has deemed less worthy. And, coming just days after the European Commission accused Google of abusing its dominance, it will be another illustration of just how important a role the Californian company plays in every corner of the global economy.

Studio-83 are experienced in building mobile-friendly website for our clients, and we will also be launching our own mobile-friendly website in the next few weeks (we always put our clients first!). If you require any more information please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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