Is your website mobile friendly?
Back Posted on 04 Apr 2015
Your website should be mobile friendly because your customers are using mobile devices
The growth in use of mobile devices such as phones and tablets has been explosive over the past few years.
The screenshot shows mobile and tablet use totalling 46% on one particular website.
This level of use is driving Google to change how your website is ranked when someone searches on their mobile device.
Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. [1]
What does this mean for my business?
It is difficult to predict exactly how the change will affect search rankings however based on what we know it is possible to make some reasonable assumptions.
What we know
- Search engines want their results to offer websites that users will enjoy using. When users like the results they receive they will use that search engine again
- Since November 2014 Google has been helping users find mobile friendly websites by tagging them in search results
- The mobile-friendly change will not affect desktop search results [2]
[3]
[What we can assume
- From 21 April 2015 Google mobile search results will prioritise websites that pass the mobile friendly website test
- Mobile device users will prioritise websites that are tagged mobile-friendly
If your website is not mobile friendly you can expect the number of referrals you receive from Google mobile searches to drop.
Is my website is mobile friendly?
If your website was written any time in the past three years it certainly should be. Mature tools have existed since January 2013 that make the build process easier and faster so there is no excuse for websites built since then not to be mobile friendly.
Older websites are less likely to be mobile friendly simply because mobile devices were not in mainstream use so there was no clear need.
If your site is more than 5 years old it is almost certainly not optimised for mobile use.
The only way to know for sure is to take the test.
Take the mobile friendly test now - it's quick and easy
Go to the Google Mobile Friendly test tool, enter your web address and imagine a drum roll while you wait a few seconds for the results.
What does it mean if my website is not mobile friendly?
If your website failed the Google Mobile Friendly test you should be concerned:
- Because you are not providing all of your customers with the best experience and
- The upcoming change to Google's ranking process will affect your position in the search results
3 actions to take now
- Run the mobile friendly test on key pages of your website - this will tell you if your website is already mobile friendly
- Establish how many of your visits come from mobile by checking your Analytics - the larger the proportion of visits from phones and tablets, the more important it is to be mobile friendly
- Find out what your competition is doing - if they are already mobile friendly you are behind and need to take immediate action. If not you can get the jump on them. Regardless, you need to plan your transition to a mobile friendly website
What to do if your website is not mobile friendly
Don't panic, in many cases small business websites can be upgraded to make them mobile friendly with relative ease.
The Ranch Caravan Park had the foresight to do just that in August 2013. The process took less than a day to complete.
Help me make my website mobile friendly
Conclusion
As always don't get hung up on trying to understand, predict or influence search engine behaviour.
Search engines want the same thing as your customers - websites that offer the best experience, so make sure your website is mobile friendly.
Resources
- Google Mobile Friendly test - This test will analyse your web page and report if it has a mobile friendly design
- Google Analytics - Most websites have some kind of analytics or statistics package installed. Reviewing the data will tell you how many of your visitors use mobile devices