Is Your Small Business Website Mobile-Friendly?

Listen to a reading of this blog post:

Well, it’s been exactly one week since Google rolled out their mobile-friendly algorithm update. It’s the first time since Google started 17 years ago, that they have announced an algorithm change ahead of time.

That’s how important this is!

Mobile-friendly sites will fare much better because most people these days shop online using their smartphones and other mobile devices. That is the very reason for this latest update from Google.

You are not going to be able to successfully compete on the World Wide Web if your website isn’t mobile ready. You will not rank high with your targeted keyword and your search traffic will be reduced.

I’m not trying to be dramatic here, I just want you to understand the importance of this and how it could affect your business.

Google Knows Best

Google knows the impact of usability concerns when it comes to the mobile-friendliness of a website. If your website was launched prior to the initiation of mobile-responsive design, then you will likely need to update the mobile usability of your website.

The age of your website will determine its mobile friendliness if no update has been done recently. As much as mobile devices have become an important consumer commodity, so is the mobility of one’s website in the grand scheme of business. So, it’s time for small businesses to take quick action.

Google has blogged about it and have released updates to its algorithm to accommodate mobile websites.

Google Blog Posts

In November of 2014, Google published a blog post about the significance of having a mobile friendly website. In the blog post, the search engine company indicated that efforts would be made to improve algorithms and add a mobile-friendly marker for mobile friendly websites so that users can find information easier.

When someone searches on a mobile device, they will have a much better search experience finding mobile-friendly websites.

Another Google post was published explaining in more details what would be involved in the new mobile-friendly marker and asking those website that have not updated to a mobile-friendly website to do so quickly.

Google has also provided a wide range of resources to assist website owners in the conversion of traditional websites to mobile-friendly websites.

What Website Owners Can Expect

If your business depends on organic search to get web traffic, it is in your best interest to follow Google’s lead and become mobile-friendly. If you don’t, you will very likely see a decline in web traffic.

Based on Google’s blog post warning, you may have already seen a decline in web traffic. This also means that Google is alerting searchers of outdated websites even before the user lands on your website.

See the grey mobile-friendly tag in the image to the right? Google started months ago labeling sites in mobile search that are mobile-friendly.

Not seeing this tag could be enough to ward off users and prevent them from visiting your website. And at some point in the near future, if your site is not mobile-friendly, it won’t even show up in search on a mobile device.

Google Webmaster Tools Account

Google is so focused on mobile usability that they are proactively contacting all website owners about this through their Google Webmaster Tools account.

If you don’t yet have a Google Webmaster Tools account, it is time that you get one.

Google will send you updates of its changes if you have a Webmaster Tools account. Make sure your account is linked to a valid email address. You will receive essential insight on things like website performance, indexing and SEO as it relates to your website.

If you have a WordPress website that is outdated, it’s time to add a mobile plugin or hire a developer to add the correct responsive code to the current WordPress theme for the appropriate mobile user experience.

This could be the perfect opportunity for you to make some design changes and update the look and feel of your website to appeal to today’s mobile visitors.

In Conclusion

Regardless of the approach you take, it’s time to do something about your non-existence in the mobile world. If you don’t make a change, then both your traffic and search engine ranking will experience a reduction in mobile searches.

If you need help making your site mobile-friendly, give us a call at 877-334-8022. We’d love to help you!

To your success!
Ken Partain