What exactly does this new term "Mobilegeddon" mean? Fortunately, it doesn’t refer to the latest uber snowstorm (whew). But the media is fond of the phrase and confusing advice doesn’t help. I’ll boil this down and explain what it means for your business.
Google Flexes Its Search Engine Muscles
With the huge rise in tablets and smartphones usage, website makers have been trying to make mobile viewing both appealing for users and affordable for businesses. First the trend was to make a completely separate mobile website. With the introduction of responsive design in 2009, most businesses prefer the more affordable solution of updating their website instead of two separate websites (mobile and then desktop).
In 2014, mobile usage surpassed desktop viewing by 60% on average. This means more than half of your site visitors are using a mobile device, not their desktop computer. Google certainly noticed this trend and decided to make life easier for the majority of users (mobile).
Google Favors Mobile-Friendly Websites
This is the part that can be confusing, especially when USA Today’s article includes terms like "webmaster." That word is no longer used by the web industry, which tells you something about the quality of that advice. Dude, 1999 wants its terminology back!
What does this mean for your business? When mobile users on Google do searches, mobile-friendly websites will rank higher in results. They will also be marked as such.
If your website is not mobile-friendly, you will rank lower in search results with mobile users using Google search. For now, Google desktop and tablet searches are not affected.
Google’s Test
So how do you know if Google thinks your website is mobile-friendly?
It will show you (or your web designer or developer) what work needs to be done. This checks only one page, not your entire website, FYI.
Did you pass? YEAH, congrats! Your website will be listed ahead of others (i.e. your competition) that fail the test.
Yikes – Google Says You’re Not Mobile-Friendly!
How much time do you have before your website ranking is affected? It might take a month or two to show up in mobile search results. Now is a good time to update your website.
While losing your ranking can be painful (thus the term Mobilegeddon), it’s more important to consider how your site appears on mobile devices. Even if you aren’t depending on search engine results for prospective clients, you may be scaring off site visitors.
Your business will benefit from switching to a mobile-friendly (responsive) setup; not only will it be easier to read on mobile devices, but you’ll have better ranking with Google, and stay ahead of competitors who haven’t switched!