A mobile website. It’s all true. No longer a bunch of hype. If you don’t have one already, you need one now.
Why? Google says so and will penalize you if you don’t!
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to tell whether or not a site was mobile friendly on your smartphone before you even clicked on the link to go to the site?
Now there is!
Google Search has decided to let users know whether or not a website is mobile friendly by including a notification to that effect right in mobile search results. Check out Search on your smartphone.
The Stats You Should Know
80% of local searches for products or services are now done on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). 46% of all searches are now done on mobile devices.
Your Competitive Edge with A Mobile Website
If you’re a business owner with a website not optimized for display on mobile devices, this is a huge incentive to become mobile friendly. No brainer.
Say you have a great looking site that has always been popular with visitors and your nearest competitor also has a great website. The mobile friendly designation from Google Search may be that crucial factor.
What does it take to make a site worthy of the Google mobile friendly designation?
Google provides resources on what is required in a mobile friendly site. Click here:
https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/
What the “Mobile-friendly” label could Mean for you
The Good – If your site earns Google’s new “Mobile-friendly” designation, you might be rewarded with a ranking boost.
The Bad – Last year Google introduced a penalty for sites providing a bad mobile search experience. Sites generating errors and other problems for mobile visitors received less visibility in Google’s smartphone results.
The Ugly – Plus Google has now added Mobile Usability reports to its Webmaster Tools. They will provide a detailed report for each error found on a company’s website.
So Google now considers mobile usability relevant for optimal search results.
So your mobile search ranking may be at stake 🙁
What To Do About It?
That depends on the amount of mobile traffic that you may be losing.
While it’s difficult to know how many people simply “never visit” because of this new notification in Google search results, you can check your Google Analytics for the amount of mobile traffic that is coming in. This can at least give you an idea of the number of people that are stopping by and having a “less than optimal visit” if you’re not providing a mobile-friendly experience.
Checking this statistic is simple, if you know where to find it. Just get logged in to your Google Analytics account and go to Audience > Mobile > Overview and that will give you the stats .
If you’re interested in a mobile-friendly website, contact Marcia Coffey @ 561-906-3436. We can work together to come up with a fantastic website viewable on all the devices.
