#mobile algorithm update

Google has recently rolled out a mobile algorithm update to help mobile-friendly websites and webpages to get ranked higher on mobile search results. How are you affected by it, you ask? Read on to know how.

All websites and webpages which are mobile-friendly will now appear higher on the search results list for searches made through mobiles. This can be achieved by ensuring all the web pages and websites are made mobile-friendly. This mobile algorithm update is also linked to Google Apps and other apps available on the Play Store. This mobile algorithm update by Google affects Google searches across all languages.

The positive side of the Google mobile algorithm update is that the desktop searches are not affected by this. All searches made on Google through desktops are ranked separately. Basically, both algorithms work on the respective platforms without hindering the working of each other.

If you would like to find out for yourself how mobile-friendly your website is, all you have to do is take your website through Google’s Mobile Friendly Test. This will determine how mobile-friendly your company’s website is. If it isn’t mobile-friendly, it will tell you what is wrong with the website optimization for mobile searches. These tests can be carried out for every URL connected to your website which would basically mean testing the various web pages within your website as well. This will give you a thorough understanding of the level of mobile-friendliness of your website which will help you understand what changes need to be made to your website.

If your website is not yet mobile-friendly, one way of doing it is to make it responsive. This helps visitors of your website avoid the hassles of horizontal and vertical scrolling to read the website content. Responsive websites easily adapt to the screen size of the device from which the visitor accesses the site. Designing websites to be responsive is one of the most effective ways of optimizing your website for mobile searches.

The mobile revolution is now in full effect. The idea that almost everyone on our planet will be using a mobile device is now part of the history books. More people are using their mobile devices on a daily basis to do basic tasks that were once reserved for big, bulky desktops and ten pound laptops. Now almost everyone holds the power to locate your business right in the palm of their hands. Are your Internet properties ready for this? If they are not, then now is the to prepare. And its not just us saying it. The entire SEO industry has been talking about the official announcement regarding the Google mobile algorithm update.

Google Is Ready

The key indicator that this change is upon us, is Google. For the past year, sites that were optimized for mobile experiences were given a little extra bump in the search results. These mobile friendly sites ranked higher than sites that were not mobile friendly. This makes sense because mobile friendly sites create a more robust user experience and this is what Google wants to achieve. Google has stated that over 60% of all searches are now being done using a mobile device.

Mobile Update Inbound

If you happen to be one of those businesses who has decided to wait and join the mobile revolution, then the wait is over. The time is now because a mobile update from the mighty search engine giant Google is imminent. The mobile D-DAY is upon us. The day of reckoning is April 21st. Consider this your deadline and heed the following advice if you want to survive the oncoming mobile Armageddon.

Prepare for the Mobile Revolution

If your site works well in a mobile environment, then you might already be properly prepared for the incoming changes that are about to shake up the search engine world once again. If your site is not ready, here are a few things that must be taken care of.

Get a mobile version of your site up and operational as soon as possible. You have two basic choices. You can go the popular route with a responsive design. This is a design that changes according to the user’s operating environment. Your site will scale and change according to the device being used. You can also choose to create an entirely separate mobile version of your site. Either way will work. The Key here is optimal user experience.

Use multiple mobile devices which use different operating systems to view each and every page of your new mobile site. Use an iPhone and and Android powered phone to make sure everything looks the way it should.

Once you have deployed your shiny and new mobile friendly site, make sure Google’s mobile bots can successfully crawl it. If the bots can’t see your site, then something is incorrect.

Of course Google is nice enough to provide some handy tools for determining just how mobile friendly your website is. To put your mobile site through the test and see what Google thinks of your new mobile site, visit their mobile testing tool: HERE.

See Also: Finding more mobile friendly search results (Google Official Webmasters’ Blog)

This tool will help you determine where your site stands with the oncoming mobile update that will drop on April 21st. It isn’t clear whether or not this tool will tell you everything you need to know about how Google is ranking sites for mobile, but it will get you started.