Are You Mobile-Friendly? | Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Boost

By March 22, 2016 March 10th, 2022 SEO | Inbound Marketing, Strategy, Websites

To celebrate its first birthday, Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm is about to get a serious boost. Once again, it’s time to seriously consider your website’s mobile friendliness.

 

On April 21, 2015, Google introduced a new ranking signal that helps indicate whether or not a website is mobile-friendly. With Google’s new algorithm, smartphone searches render different results than desktop searches, and websites that have un-optimized elements, such as a flash video or blocked CSS and Javascript, do not rank as well for mobile searches. This update drew a lot of attention. And webmasters and businesses began using tools like the Mobile-Friendly Test to determine how mobile-friendly their websites are.

 

This May, in an effort to make the SERPs even more relevant and mobile-friendly, Google has stated that they will, “start rolling out an update to mobile search results that increases the effect of the ranking signal to help our users find even more pages that are relevant and mobile-friendly.”

 

This significant mobile-friendly update introduces many intelligent features. And there are several things that webmasters and smart businesses should pay attention to.

 

Here are the Top 10 highlights of Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Boost:

  1. If you’ve already optimized your website for mobile, this update will not impact your site.
  2. Mobile Ranking will be determined on a page-by-page basis. This means that, even if certain pages on your site have delinquent elements, your domain can still rank well for mobile searches.
  3. Organic search or the “ten blue links” are the only areas that will be affected. Local search results will not be influenced at this point.
  4. Unblock Javascript and CSS elements. You must allow Googlebot to crawl your website’s CSS and Javascript.
  5. Responsive design does not have a direct ranking benefit.
  6. A separate mobile sitemap is unnecessary.
  7. Updates are dynamic. Once your site is mobile-friendly, it will be recognized as soon as Google crawls it.
  8. Google is developing a completely separate mobile index.
  9. Quality matters more than mobile-friendliness. According to Google, “even if a page with high-quality content is not mobile-friendly, it could still rank well if it has great, relevant content.”
  10. This update will not affect tablet or desktop search results in Google – just mobile devices.

True Mobile Friendliness is Mobile Usability

Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm boost is not surprising. It’s expected. Look around. People are using their smartphones for just about everything. And businesses that hope to succeed into the future must connect with mobile consumers.

 

Making your website mobile-friendly to search engines, however, is just the beginning. What’s even more important, and often overlooked, is mobile usability, how customers engage with your brand on their mobile device. If your site is not well designed for mobile navigation, if it can’t be easily consumed and understood on a small screen, no one will want to engage with your site.

 

An elegant mobile experience requires careful consideration. Clarity is essential. Simplicity is the key to success. But clarity and simplicity can only be achieved through intelligent architecture and a site that is structured to support mobile use.

 

When you’re deciding how to render content on your website or where to navigate a user to, constantly ask, “How will this appear on smartphone?” A quality mobile experience will only be achieved through diligence and scrutiny. Everything must be stripped to its essence. Content must be easy to consume in a single second.

 

The Future is Mobile

Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm boost is a clear signal that the future of digital commerce will take place on smartphones. But the truth is, although mobile use is growing, mobile usability is way behind. Success in our modern mobile world will come to businesses who adapt their services to mobile consumers, optimize their websites, and embrace mobile-friendly website design.  

 

Mobilize your business with Bluetent’s responsive, mobile-friendly, booking platform and hospitality engine, Rezfusion.

 

Have questions on Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm update? Contact Us to talk more.

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