Google Has Begun Penalizing Non-Mobile Friendly Websites

• May 31, 2015 4:05 am
• Categories: Google Ranking | Mobile-Friendly Responsive | Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | SEO News | Web Design | Website Tips

Included in the latest algorithm update from the world’s #1 search engine Google, any web site not optimized for a mobile device will be penalized in the search results. However Google does not see it as a penalizing those website that are not mobile friendly but instead as rewarding those web sites that have created a design specifically for their mobile visitors – Now try telling that to someone who saw their 1st page Google ranking plummet to page 5 or worse!

This update has been in effect just over a month leading a significant percentage of the world’s web sites to lose their hard won SEO ranking and scrabbling to catch up. According to the announcement on its Webmaster Central blog, Google said:

Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.

So what exactly does Google want?

The techie term for it is “responsive” as in your web site automatically detects the users screen resolution and “responds” by loading the design perfect for that size. You may have noticed that some websites are laid out differently on your desktop than on your smartphone.

So how can you tell if your web site is responsive?

The easiest way to know is to load your web site on any mobile device and see if your website design allows you to pinch in and out; If you can then chances are that your web site is not responsive. Of course this is just one of many factors Google uses to determine if a website design is mobile responsive or not. Some other major factors Google looks for is large enough text, buttons/links being spread out making them easier to click with your finger and touch-friendly site navigation.

Since Apple released its 1st generation iPhone nearly 8 years ago in June of 2007, browsing the internet on all sorts of mobile devices and smartphones has exploded. Mobile internet browsing is clearly not a fad and Google is leading the way with its latest algorithm update by forcing websites to go mobile-friendly or be penalized. Until this latest algorithm update Google viewed responsive and non-responsive web sites the same… but not any more.

So the bottom-line is that if your web site needs to be responsive now and forever on! Even if you think your web site is responsive or it loads good on your mobile device that is no guarantee that the Google Robot sees it as mobile-friendly. You will need to do some tests and have your web site reviewed to confirm that it is indeed rendering as mobile-friendly.

What Should I Do?

In some cases the responsive features can be added to your existing sites code and design but in many cases the entire web site will need to be redesigned from scratch. We can help you with both options and to win back your page rank or maybe even improve it!

It should be noted that Google is only penalizing sites for not being mobile friendly if the search is done on a mobile device and that Google is (so far) the only search engine to do this. Expect all major internet browsers to follow Googles lead in their next algorithm updates.

Contact us today and one of our expert website developers can review your web site free of charge and tell you personally if Google reads it as mobile-friendly or if your sites SEO is being penalized.

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• May 31, 2015 4:05 am
• Categories: Google Ranking | Mobile-Friendly Responsive | Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | SEO News | Web Design | Website Tips
• Written by admin
• Tags: Google | Google Algorithm | iPhone | Mobile Devices | Smartphones