If there’s one thing you do to improve your website this year, making it mobile-friendly has to be up near the top. (Together with having it proofread, obviously.)
Most of you will have mobile-friendly sites. Or do you? When did you last check your website on a smartphone?
Studies have shown that 60% of internet searches in 2015 come from a mobile device, and to reflect this Google made a massive change to their algorithm. This update happened overnight and you may have been asleep.
It now means that Google will start penalising websites that aren't mobile-friendly.
This is great news for consumers, but it means businesses have to get ahead to be in the game.
We hear the words 'responsive' and 'optimised' flung around repeatedly. And if your website is less than four years old, the chances are it will be responsive and optimised. However, there are still issues that could force your visitors to X off, and that’s if they can find you in the first place.
1. LOAD TIMES
Sites with videos that don’t play, or images that take time to load will be handicapped in searches.
2. RESPONSIVE DESIGN ELEMENTS
Text must be readable without zooming. Content should fit the screen so that scrolling and zooming aren’t necessary. And a fat fist should be able to tap on a link easily.
3. A FLASH INTRO OR SPLASH PAGE
It may have wow factor, but Flash isn’t commonly supported on mobile devices and Google will penalise sites that use it. Furthermore, there aren’t any tags so your crucial SEO keywords don’t get prominence.
In short, if your site doesn’t load fast or look good on a mobile your ranking could take a major hit. Some experts say your SEO ranking could drop by as much as 50%. Imagine: one day your website is on page one in the listings, and the next day it has slipped into the cellars and is on page five.
Having a site that adapts easily to a mobile environment is crucial, and usability testing is key.
Want to check? You can test your site by going to Google's Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool.
Most of you will have mobile-friendly sites. Or do you? When did you last check your website on a smartphone?
Studies have shown that 60% of internet searches in 2015 come from a mobile device, and to reflect this Google made a massive change to their algorithm. This update happened overnight and you may have been asleep.
It now means that Google will start penalising websites that aren't mobile-friendly.
This is great news for consumers, but it means businesses have to get ahead to be in the game.
We hear the words 'responsive' and 'optimised' flung around repeatedly. And if your website is less than four years old, the chances are it will be responsive and optimised. However, there are still issues that could force your visitors to X off, and that’s if they can find you in the first place.
1. LOAD TIMES
Sites with videos that don’t play, or images that take time to load will be handicapped in searches.
2. RESPONSIVE DESIGN ELEMENTS
Text must be readable without zooming. Content should fit the screen so that scrolling and zooming aren’t necessary. And a fat fist should be able to tap on a link easily.
3. A FLASH INTRO OR SPLASH PAGE
It may have wow factor, but Flash isn’t commonly supported on mobile devices and Google will penalise sites that use it. Furthermore, there aren’t any tags so your crucial SEO keywords don’t get prominence.
In short, if your site doesn’t load fast or look good on a mobile your ranking could take a major hit. Some experts say your SEO ranking could drop by as much as 50%. Imagine: one day your website is on page one in the listings, and the next day it has slipped into the cellars and is on page five.
Having a site that adapts easily to a mobile environment is crucial, and usability testing is key.
Want to check? You can test your site by going to Google's Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool.
