In the very near future, Google will be rolling out their latest algorithm change and it will affect literally tens of millions of websites in their organic rankings. Many of us in the industry are eagerly anticipating this latest update and can’t wait to see how much of an effect it will have in the SERP’s. In one particular industry, we have noticed that more than 50% of the websites are not ready and this trend is pretty common throughout the world-wide-web. Is your website ready?
What is the change?
Before you can answer if your website is ready, you should probably know what the change is. Starting on April 21st 2015, Google will penalize websites that aren’t mobile friendly (or responsive). You may think that your site works on any device but there are certain criteria that it must meet. Some of the criteria many sites don’t meet are:
– Having images that are too big and take forever to load.
– Having buttons that are placed too close together making touch screen difficult.
– Having a site that doesn’t properly fit into the browsing window.
Because more than 50% of internet searches are on mobile devices, Google has recognized the need for every user to be directed to relevant websites that work on all platforms. The entire goal of this update is to ensure people find exactly what they are looking for with their daily searches and penalize sites that don’t meet the standards.
What can you do?
To ensure your website isn’t affected, you must make sure that your website responsive and usable on any mobile device. You can test it here:
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
If you get a passing grade, congratulations! You are officially one step ahead of the competition! If your business has one the websites that isn’t; be prepared to witness a drastic change in traffic, leads and potential sales. The only way you can ensure you remain in good standing with Google is to ensure that your website works on any mobile device.
Is it too late?
It’s never too late to make the changes your website needs to meet with Google’s standards, however you should consider making the change sooner than later. If you need more information about how to make your site ready for the April 21st update, don’t hesitate to contact NetGain for a free, no obligation quote.
