Google, the leader in online search, is constantly changing their algorithms in order to keep up with the fast pace of the digital landscape. The search engine company regularly releases updates (we all remember Panda which affected 12% of searches) that change the way search results rank, in order to create a better user experience across the web.
Their newest update is no exception: a new tweak to their partially secretive algorithm that favors sites and businesses that have mobile-friendly websites. Digital marketers are affectionately referring to it as Mobilegeddon, as it is expected to affect more websites than either Panda or Penguin. [insert Armageddon theme song]
What does this mean? This means that beginning on April 21, your website could see a drop in overall traffic (organic or paid search) due to its poor user experience on mobile devices, as decided by Google. Greg Sterling, an independent analyst, estimated that up to 40% of the top businesses are not mobile-friendly, and therefore, could see a decline in their search presence[1].
Websites that usually ranked in the top three spots could suddenly find themselves lower on the page, if not completely removed from the first page, which for mobile devices, could mean drastically lower website traffic.
Mobile is an increasingly growing platform for digital media. It has come to the point that if you are not investing in a mobile presence, then you are losing out on a large portion of potential customers.
Some research states that 27% of all retail sales happen on mobile.[2] It is estimated that by 2019, mobile ad spending will eclipse desktop with 72% of all ad spend.[3]
Customers are turning to their mobile devices to gain news fast, find phone numbers quickly, and seek the information they want instantly. This could mean increased revenue for your business, but only if you’re optimizing for mobile and providing a clean and accessible user experience.
Your mobile site should be easy to navigate, have calls to action and phone numbers highly visible, a menu or portal that efficiently directs users to the different sections of your site, and probably more importantly, a quick load time. Don’t make your potential customers have to scroll far down the page for the information they desire. Readable text is important as well and mobile-optimized resolutions. Some examples that we have created are below:
How can we help? Motivated Marketing can help ensure that your site is designed for mobile. If you’re unsure if your site is mobile-friendly, check out Google’s handy tool at: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
[1] Jefferson Graham, Mobilegeddon could be bad news for 40% of top websites, http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/04/20/mobilegeddon-could-impact-your-business/26090627/
[2] Melissa Feemster, How Will Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Affect Affiliate Marketing? http://marketingland.com/will-googles-mobile-friendly-algorithm-affect-affiliate-marketing-124728
[3] Greg Sterling, Forecast: Nearly Three-Quarters Of Digital Ad Spending To Be Mobile By 2019, http://marketingland.com/forecast-nearly-three-quarters-of-digital-ad-spending-to-be-mobile-by-2019-122766