Today, Google is changing its algorithm to rank mobile-friendly websites higher in mobile search results. It will also crawl content from apps to display relevant app information for a search.
What does this mean for you?
Website search traffic from mobile devices has increased by 20% within the last year, so having a mobile-friendly and responsive web design is now more important than ever. Starting today, if your website is not mobile-friendly, it will affect your search engine optimization (SEO), or whether or not your website shows up in Google search results.
Does your website pass the test?
You can test your website using this free tool from Google Developers. This tool will explain if your website is mobile-friendly or if there are issues accessing your website from a mobile device. For example, are links too close together? Are users able to click your phone number and call, or is it within an image that’s not clickable? The tool also reports whether or not your website is responsive (see below).
What is responsive web design?
Responsive web design allows a single website to adapt to different devices and displays according to the size of the screen. People can view a website from a wide variety of devices—from small smart phone and tablet screens to large television screens. It’s important to make sure website visitors can easily view and use your website from screens of all sizes. If you need help, the GREENCREST web design and development team can help ensure your website is mobile-responsive and search-friendly!
What’s this about apps?
Google is now searching apps to find relevant content to display in mobile search results. For example, if a person has the Yelp app installed on their smart phone or tablet and searches on Google for “pizza near me,” a pizza place that is listed on Yelp will show up towards the top of their search results.
Does your company want to promote its own app to mobile users? The Google Algorithm update is great news for you! Make sure your app is indexed by Google so it has a chance to display on page one for relevant searches.
To make sure your website and/or mobile app is ready for this major change, contact GREENCREST!