• Home
  • Converting
  • Marketing
    • Email Marketing
  • Social Media
  • Mistakes That Kill
  • Technology
  • Reviews
  • Life

Pamela Hazelton

Twitter icon Facebook icon Google Plus icon LinkedIn icon Periscope icon rss icon
  • About
  • Publications
  • Clients
  • Hire Me
    • Online Store Analysis
    • Local Business Site
  • Connect
  • Schedule
You are here: Home / Marketing / Will Your Site Be Punished by Google’s Friendly Mobile Update?

Will Your Site Be Punished by Google’s Friendly Mobile Update?

April 16, 2015 by Pamela Leave a Comment

If plenty of the big guys are in line to see a drop in traffic due to unfriendly mobile versions of their websites, the small businesses can expect to see repercussion as well. Google’s latest update puts more focus on mobile-friendly sites, including online stores.

The update – aka “Mobilegeddon” – is planned for April 21, 2015, and the last time Google made this type of change, eBay lost a majority of its prime rankings on mobile search. 

So what’s in store? Google said this update is going to give mobile friendly sites higher rankings in search results. Mobile sites that sport large text, responsive designs, and clear calls to action will get bigger nods. That means – as I’ve said all along – that simpler is better when it comes to mobile.

What can you do?

First, you need to test your site. Head on over to Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and enter your site’s URL. Googlebot will fetch the site and return the results within a few moments.

Screenshot - Google says this site is mobile friendly
Whew. I’m ahead of the game.
Screenshot: Google results for The Daily Mail - not mobile friendly
Whoops. The Daily Mail may lose rank in mobile search.

If you get a “Not mobile-friendly” result, heed the warnings. The tool will tell you the key reasons why the site stands to lose rankings. Some of the reasons may seem broad, but this infographic found at red website design explains what Google’s looking for in a mobile site.

Infographic: Is your Mobile Site Friendly?
Source: red website design

A few other key points:

  • If your site uses a dedicated URL to mobile, you want to make sure that it loads properly. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, so it’s a good idea to test the desktop URL as well.
  • If you’ve published a mobile app for smartphones and tablets, that doesn’t protect you from Google’s update.
  • According to Business Insider (and other sources), “The impact of Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm is predicted to be huge.”
  • Many believe this latest update will pack more of a punch than Google’s Panda and Penguin updates (if that’s the case, it’s more than huge – it’s ginormous!).
  • Google reports that about half of online searches are run via mobile devices.

There’s good news for small- and micro- business sites, though. This is a chance for the little guys to get more exposure while the rest scramble to implement changes.

Does your site pass the test? Chime in below – I’d love to get an idea of who is ready for “Mobilegeddon”.

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Google+
Google+
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Buffer this page
Buffer
Email this to someone
email

Filed Under: Marketing, Mistakes That Kill Tagged With: Ecommerce, marketing, mobile, SEO

headshot of Pamela Hazelton I'm an ecommerce and online business consultant and developer, focusing on social media, online marketing and conversions.
Join My Mailing List
For Email Newsletters you can trust.
Constant Contact Solution Provider
Tweets by @pamelahazelton

I use Clarity for one-on-one consulting calls for non-clients. Give it a try today at a special rate.

Tags (click to jump to topics)

advertising Amazon android Apple blind users blogging browsers cloud computing communication conversion conversions Cost-Cutting customer support Ecommerce email email marketing facebook Google infographic iPad iphone marketing Mistakes That Kill mobile mobile apps mobile commerce my life organization palm practical ecommerce privacy productivity reviews security SEO Shareaholic shopability smartphone social media Technology twitter usability web design webOS WordPress

Copyright 2017 Pamela Hazelton. All Rights Reserved.


This site sometimes uses affiliate links. While I may earn credit for signups and sales,
I will never link to or recommend a product or service I have not tested and would not use myself.