Update Your Site for Mobile Device Users: Save your Google Search Rankings.
Date: October 29, 2014Category: Author: Jaren Martineau
The growth in the number of mobile devices accessing the internet in recent years has been phenomenal to say the very least. We have blogged about this growth in mobile device use before. Naturally, along with this growth has been an increase in the number of searches that are being done from mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Millions of visitors are performing regular internet searches from their mobile devices. These visitors will turn away from websites that have not been optimized so that they are mobile friendly. Despite this tremendous growth and opportunity, a large number of companies both large and small have not adjusted to this incredible shift in the search market. In fact, a study last year indicated that two-thirds of the top Fortune 100 companies have not yet mobile optimized their sites for Google! This information is truly difficult to believe. Website owners who have not reacted to this increase in mobile device users are missing an excellent opportunity to reach their potential visitors.
In addition to losing out on the benefits of engaging with mobile users, there is also the very real possibility of Google demoting websites in their search algorithm who have not caught on and adjusted to this trend in mobile usage. This may happen through search engine rankings or through a special mobile aware label on websites that are mobile friendly. Not only will mobile unfriendly websites not attract and engage with their mobile users, but their websites may soon be penalized in Google search results! This essentially results in a negative double whammy for websites who are still living in the Stone Age of the Internet and have not yet optimized for their mobile users.
There really is no benefit to not adding this functionality into your website. The benefits of making your site mobile aware are substantial. This coupled with the very real possibility of having your website demoted in Google’s ranking algorithm should be enough to motivate website owners to make the decision. There are several different ways to make your website mobile aware. One of the techniques that is extremely popular for making a website mobile aware is termed “responsive design”. There was an excellent blog post from August, 2014 that outlines some of the key components involved in a successful responsive design. If you would like further information about making your website mobile friendly, please contact us. Your web visitors will love you for it!
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