In our constantly connected world, consumers rely on smartphones and mobile devices more than ever to help them shop for products and services.
On February 26, 2015, Google announced the newest shift in online search: an algorithm update that favors mobile-friendly websites in mobile search queries and rankings. This page-level update, dubbed “Mobilegeddon” by many a worried search engine marketer, was implemented on April 21, 2015. Companies that have ignored mobile web users up to this point have been facing a decrease in search traffic for a long while…but now there is no question.
If your website isn’t accessible to mobile devices, you will lose traffic, and your Google Ranking will plummet.
If you keep mobile users out of the loop, you’re ignoring a growing majority of your Internet audience.
Users Rule Your Google Ranking
It’s a question that burns the brain of every entrepreneur, from upstarts to seasoned CEOs: How do I get higher Google Rankings?
60% of consumers use mobile devices as a primary or exclusive Internet source.
70% of mobile searches lead to action on websites within one hour of the initial search.
The answer is simple: you will rank high with Google, if you engage with your audience and keep your users’ experience in mind.
We live in a world of websites, blogs and online stores. Having an online presence is inherent to your success as a business. But having a successful online presence is about more than simply having a website. Your Google Ranking comes down to how Internet users interact with your website, and users these days are finding you on more than just a desktop computer.
Google’s Update: A Mobile-Friendly Shift
More than half of mobile consumers search the Internet primarily or exclusively on their mobile devices. While desktop computers remain an important access point to your website, your audience is not only finding you on mobile, but they’re also interacting with you on mobile devices.
The verdict is: the world is going mobile.
Responsive Websites Better Serve Your Audience
Your audience is finding you on a number of devices: from large monitors, to laptops, to tablets, to mobile devices of all types including Android, Blackberry, iPhone and the list continues. These devices provide a user experience unique to the screen size and functionality of each device.
40% of users will choose another result if their first choice isn’t mobile-friendly.
46% of mobile users report having problems viewing a non-responsive website.
Responsive design allows websites to automatically adapt their content (position of elements, number of columns, image size, etc.) based on the device and screen size of the user.
This technology allows the website to reformat its visual layout, but use the same HTML coding across all devices—allowing Google to crawl and index your websites more efficiently, and giving users a visually engaging and easy-to-navigate website experience.
It’s a win-win situation. Users from every device get the experience they want, and Google gets the information it needs to keep you ranking favorably in online searches.
Get Responsive: Listen to the Needs of Your Audience
Having a good user experience across all devices is becoming more important with every update to the Google search algorithm. Moving forward, it will not be enough to create a separate mobile website or redirect via dynamic serving.
If you want to be found, your website must be responsive.
A responsive web design requires careful planning and execution, but the resulting design will enhance your user experience across all devices and ensure a more friendly relationship with Google in the future.
Post Resources: iAcquire, BOP Design and Internet Retailer.