On April 21st, Google put into play a new update for how they process their search quality parameters. This update focuses on websites being “mobile-friendly” and will have a HUGE impact on SEO rankings. If your website does not follow their new set of guidelines, expect your website visitor traffic to drop.
So here is what you need to know…
Up until this point, Google hasn’t really brought mobile-friendly guidelines into how they process their organic rankings. This is a change that needed to happen as just about everyone searches for information via their smartphone or tablet devices. We’ve all visited a website that is almost impossible to view from a smartphone… the navigation is tricky and you have to zoom-in just to read the words. With Google’s new update, they will demote sites that use these practices and reward websites that are mobile-friendly. This means that when you search on your phone or tablet, Google will continue to provide quality search results that are optimized for such devices, which is huge for any user.
If your website is not mobile friendly, sorry to break the news to you, but as mentioned earlier, your ranking position will drop, which can have a substantial impact on your website’s traffic volume.
Do you even know if your website is mobile friendly?
Check it out by entering your website into here: www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
If your website report comes back with a google mobile-friendly review, you’re all set. If not, you have some work to do if you want to maintain your website traffic and ranking. The good news is, we are here to help! Simply contact us to learn more about our responsive web design options that Google rewards in their rankings.
Not sure what responsive web design is? Check out our blog post that explains everything!
Tips to make your website more mobile-friendly (according to Google).
- Avoid using unplayable content such as Adobe Flash – they just simply don’t work on smartphones or tablets!
- Avoid requiring the user to zoom (for text or images) – text should be readable even on a small scale.
- Allow Googlebot the ability to access JavaScript, CSS, and image files – this allows Google to properly index your website.
- Avoid the use of mobile redirects that are faulty – example: www.website.com/info -> m.website.com
- Avoid the use of mobile only 404s – this strictly prohibits smartphones or tablets from viewing a website while a desktop computer would have no issues.
- Avoid requiring a user to download your app to display the information – download ‘example app’ from iTunes to view the information.
- Avoid having mobile or desktop links that interact with each other – in a few words, this means that there would be a combination of desktop links (standard non-mobile friendly page) and mobile links that would interact with each other.
- Avoid slow response time – make your website quick so that users don’t get frustrated with long load times.
To learn more about Google’s changes or to have your website reviewed, please contact us for more information on our web design services that we offer.
R2F Creative LLC provides graphic design + branding and web design solutions for clients nationwide and locally in Ankeny and Des Moines, Iowa.
