Starting April 21, 2015, “mobile-friendliness” will be a ranking factor on Google. Confirmed by Google in February—companies that do not have a mobile-friendly or responsive website will suffer ranking depreciation. Is your website mobile friendly, find out here.
Did you pass? If so, you can click away from this article or maybe take a look at the 4 Things Google Wants From Your Website in 2015.
But, if your website is not mobile friendly, better keep reading…
I didn’t pass. What does this mean for my business?
If you’re like most busy business owners, you may have pushed your website to the back burner and let it coast for a few years. You may have not seen the importance of blogging or SEO because well, you’ve been busy. It happens.
Decline in traffic
Google’s past algorithm updates like Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird have been catastrophic for some businesses. It’s speculated that this mobile update could have the same effect on brands that have not made the change to a responsive “mobile-friendly” design, but only time will tell.
If you haven’t made the move yet, don’t fear. If you’re running your website on WordPress or some other mobile-capable CMS’, the change should be fairly painless. You should definitely start making preparations now to upgrade.
Why the update?
Consumer behavior has changed drastically with more than 50% of all internet users accessing the web from a mobile device. (Source: Smart Insights) How can this be? Think about it for a moment. When you’re in a store, you may pull out your phone to compare prices of the same product from other stores to make sure you’re getting the right price. This is called “showrooming.” Or if you’re traveling and search for a nearby restaurant—you go to Google. And not to mention that if you walk down any street in America, you’ll see people’s heads buried in their iPhones. What’s also amazing is that 90% of all interactions per day is done through a screen of some sorts – 38% by mobile (Source: Hubspot). And with the trends of wearable tech and more go-go gadgets on the way, you can be sure that mobile will become the norm from here on out.
Check out the latest statistics that validate Google’s Decision:
- 57% of users won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site (Source: Mobile Playbook)
- 40% have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience. (Source: Mobile Playbook)
- By 2017, it is predicted that 85% of the world will have 3G coverage (Source: Ericcson)
- There are almost 1.2 Billion users in China (Source: Statisa)
- 56% of American adults are now smartphone owners. (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2013)
- 75 percent of Americans bring their phones to the bathroom. (Source: Digiday, 2013)
Needless to say, mobile is here to stay. Don’t let all your hard work of blogging, search engine optimization and investment go to waste. Contact us today to learn how to best prepare for this update.
