Up & Away, To Mobile?

Up & Away, To Mobile?

Companies need to make sure that not only are their websites optimized properly for laptop and desktops but now for mobile search.  Google is constantly making changes to their algorithms, updating processes and making sure that the user receives the best experience possible. This is the new case with Google's mobile change.  It has now become more important than ever to have a truly mobile friendly website that responds and acts accordingly.  

Why the shift?

  In truth this is not a major shift for users.  Google has recognized that with the increase in technological advancements more people are starting to search and use mobile phones.  This is the same reason why Google introduced the "Call Only" campaign in Google AdWords, allowing users to call directly without seeing a website to encourage more business leads at a fast rate.  Google is looking towards the future and understanding that sites who are not mobile friendly should not be placed higher on the search chain, when a user is looking while on the go. They want better experiences rather than frustrating ones.  

 

What This Means? 

 For companies this means that they need to make sure either their web developers or website master starts to alter any sites or parts of their sites that are not optimized for such.  Allow not as prevalent these days there are still sites that use Flash which is something that Google has said will truly be affected by this new algorithm.  If you site however is mobile friendly they will reward you with better search ranking on mobile.  In the competitive age where new businesses are created each day it is more vital than ever to be active across the board.  Mobile is becoming a large market and those who are not mobile friendly are truly missing out on opportunity.  

 

Then & Now:

  In the past some updates created by Google, trying to encourage mobile friendly sites where presented in a way that some users may not have paid attention to.  In the previous period websites that were truly mobile friendly would in a way receive a heading that told users this site is mobile friendly and your experience in navigating will be great.  While others who were not would have no label next to them.  In a way this was Google trying to showcase to users and businesses the potential of doing such.  Now they are forcing, if you are mobile your rankings will increase, if you are not mobile you are being punished and moving down the search list.  

 

Become Mobile Friendly:

 Companies must try to follow the guidelines of Google if they want to improve on their mobile rankings, especially those who are currently not mobile friendly.   It is important that any flash sites are change immediately as if your company is in this situation, it means your site has been around for a while.  Most sites these days are not flash based anymore and this is Google's way of trying to phase them all out. Google has set out criteria for truly defining what is means to be mobile friendly.  

1) The site is readable without zooming in or zooming out

2) The content presented on the site does not need to be scrolled horizontally and should fit on any phone scale

3) Sites need to place links far apart so desired links a user wants to click on can be tapped with ease.  

 

Fast Response, Proper Response:

 Many companies have started to understand that just like in their business users love great experiences.  Many web designs are starting to be more responsive to the user and more responsive across different devices.  Whether on an iPhone, Samsung, Tablet or Computer, the site itself works well and can easily be read and navigated.  The idea is to make sure that your website is covered across the board and ultimately makes the best of a situation for users.  A great way to see if your site is Mobile Friendly is to use this URL test which takes less than a minute to tell you if you site is or not:  

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

 

Final Notes:

 Although Google seems to be in the phase of trying to make sure all sites are mobile friendly this is not the case for everyone.  There are many sites out there that have content that is truly invaluable to the user and possibly will eventually shift to be fully mobile friendly.  Google also loves content and content that is relevant to the user.  If a site is not mobile friendly but truly has relevant information, they might not be as poorly ranked as one may think.  Although they may not be #1 they won't be the last either.  Website of course will loose traffic but it won't be 100%.  For some businesses though loosing any traffic could affect their business in a big way.  Google is always changing and this new trend is just the beginning of many things to come.  It means that this process will keep changing and being updated.  The important thing to take away from this is to make sure that websites are mobile friendly and give users the best possible experience that they can!