MAKE SURE YOUR WEBSITE IS MOBILE FRIENDLY

On April 21, 2015, Google will implement a major update to its search algorithm. Beginning on that date, the Google algorithm will include mobile device friendliness as a major factor. With more than half the searches now being conducted estimated to be done on tablets and smart phones, this revision by Google is not surprising.

Clearly, this is going to be a major milestone in search engine optimization. If you have a website that was built several years ago, chances are it is not mobile friendly. If your site is fairly new or has been recently updated, it still behooves you to confirm that it is mobile friendly. If you’re not sure if your site is mobile friendly, you can check with your webmaster. You can also check it with one of Google’s free tools. Go to:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

and type in your website’s URL. The tool will analyze each page of your site and let you know whether your site meets their standard. You can also check your site by accessing it on a mobile device. You should be able to tell right away. If what comes up on your tablet or phone looks like a small version of what you see on your desktop, you’re not mobile friendly.

An important aspect of the revision is that it will assess each page of your site individually. In practice, it’s most likely that if your site has been optimized for mobile, all pages will be optimized. However, if your site has some mobile-optimized pages, but some non-optimized pages, Google will look at them separately and promote those that are optimized. Google won’t evaluate the site as a whole, so a site that otherwise ranks highly with Google will only be somewhat adversely affected by the presence of pages that aren’t optimized. Nonetheless, it is to everyone’s benefit to optimize all pages for mobile.

Lastly, the new algorithm will also include Android app indexing as a factor. In this regard, Google recommends the following:

• Add deep link support and specify how to reach specific content within your app.
• Verify your app’s official website on Google Play Console.
• Provide deep links for each web page that has a corresponding deep link, either on each page of your website or in your sitemaps.
• Check for errors in Webmaster Tools so you can fix them.

In other words, ask your webmaster to make sure your site is optimized for Android apps.

To read Google’s official announcement, go to Google’s Webmaster Central Blog at:

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2015/02/finding-more-mobile-friendly-search.html

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