By Guest Blogger Tom Perricone, President of Shield Watch IT Services
With technology changing daily we as consumers are constantly finding better ways of getting connected, staying connected and finding what we need in a simple and effective way. Mobility has become a very staple of our personal and business lives in nearly everything we do. So, how is Google looking to enrich our lives now? How about with a new algorithm that changes the very results that pertain to your mobile search?
Earlier this year, Matt Cutts of Google indicated that the number of Google Search queries from mobile devices far surpasses the number of Desktop / Laptop search queries. With nearly 5+ billion devices throughout the world this isn’t hard to fathom. In early July Google announced some changes to their search engine to optimize for this increased mobile traffic. “In English search results in the US, we will indicate to searchers when our algorithms detect pages that may not work on their devices”. Although this is great news for those trying to find mobile friendly sites to find what they are looking for…what does this mean to businesses that don’t have mobile ready websites?
What does this mean for your website that isn’t mobile friendly?
What this actually means is that your Google Search query will potentially block the user from seeing sites that aren’t “mobile friendly” or at the very least show a warning message in the results list. For example: You were looking to search for a local auto repair company and one of those results had Adobe flash elements on the home page which neither iOS or Android support you will see a warning that the site may not be viewed correctly on your device potentially prompting the user to choose another provider.
Google has stated that thy will not penalize sites not catering to mobile devices, but users will not likely ignore the message essentially penalizing the business by decreasing the number of visitors and page views to the website.
How can I tell if my site is mobile friendly?
With Google’s changes you should first check to see if your website is mobile friendly, but how do you do this? There are a number of sites out there will check for mobile-friendliness. Currently there are two ways your site can be mobile. The first is having a completely separate mobile site that gives the visitor a unique mobile version. The second and more common these days is something called “Responsive” theming which will grow and contract to the very size of the device the site is being viewed on like a smartphone or tablet. Both testing sites are available below.
Mobile Testing
Responsive Testing
http://ami.responsivedesign.is/
If you’ve been sitting on the fence about revising your site to be more responsive and mobile-friendly, now’s the time. Otherwise, your competitors who have responsively designed sites are poised to leave you behind.
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About Shield Watch IT Services:
Shield Watch has been providing cost effective web solutions for over 12 years and offers solutions to get your website back in the good graces of the Google search queries. They have 45 developers on staff ready to tackle mobile projects quickly, effectively and at a price point designed for even the smallest of businesses. Shield Watch has 10 developers on staff specializing in search engine optimization, Google AdWords management as well as specialized drip campaigns married with localized target mailing services. To learn more, contact Tom Perricone at 813.926.9672 or via email at tperricone@shieldwatch.com.