When we need to look something up online, most of us turn straight to Google. This isn’t a random occurrence, and everyone knows it’s the established norm for searching for anything online. As of March 2016, Google is responsible for 67.7% of all global online searches. What does this mean for you? This means you have to carefully monitor everything that Google does regarding their search engine infrastructure and modify your SEO accordingly.

One such major change that Google introduced in April of 2015 was the implementation of a new algorithm which determined a website’s mobile “friendliness” and influenced its ranking amongst search results. This meant that if your website was mobile friendly, it got better scores and was more likely to show up higher in search results for people using a mobile device. Google recognized that the mobile revolution was underway and more users were starting to search and look things up with the use of their mobile devices like phones and tablets. So the response was simple, reward the sites which are optimized for mobile use with better rankings.

This move was a no-brainer for Google. The number of mobile users surpassed desktop users somewhere between 2013 and 2014. It is estimated that in 2016, 75.1% of U.S. internet users are accessing the internet through a mobile device. If your website isn’t configured to work on multiple platforms, then why should Google give it a higher ranking?

Furthermore, as Google observed the growth of mobile users increasing at a very steady rate from 2015 to 2016, they decided to boost the effects of mobile friendly rankings across all websites. This means that a website’s mobile friendly status will now affect search ranking regardless of whether the search takes places on a desktop or a mobile device. Again, this move makes absolute sense when taking into account the sheer number of users who have started to use mobile devices over desktops and laptops. The last thing Google wants is to suggest a website for the topic you are searching for and then find out that the website isn’t viewable on a mobile device. This could cause some severe backlash from Google users. Considering they are the number one search engine in the world, avoiding this situation is, of course, a priority.

Now that we understand why Google decided to make these changes, what do we do?

For starters, make sure your website is responsive. A responsive website changes the size of its content to fit any device which is being used to view it. This is a simple solution which will make your website mobile friendly. It might cost you a few extra pennies here and there, but it has quickly become a standard amongst most web designers and shouldn’t set you back too much. Besides, your Google ranking is worth far more than what you will pay for a responsive website.

There is also another solution which might be a better choice for you depending on your needs. Building a specific mobile friendly website which is separate from your main site can be a useful alternative in situations where responsive web design just isn’t the right choice. For example, if you have a huge site packed full of products that you sell all year round, it might be a good move to make a smaller version of that same site which is tailored for mobile customers and has less content. Your main site will redirect all mobile visitors to the mobile site, thus making it mobile friendly.

No matter what your company does, you have to keep up with the times and cater to your customers or clients where they are.  This means following along with Google’s decisions that influence your website and its rankings. Google can be a powerful force for your business, all you have to do is play by the rules.

 

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