If you’re a procrastinator, you might want to stop waiting now. You’ve been hearing about this change for several months now, but maybe you never thought it meant anything. Starting today, though, Google is unveiling its algorithmic changes to emphasize sites that are optimized for mobile browsing experiences.
So what does that mean?
To put it simply, Google is planning on flagging sites that don’t offer a heightened mobile experience. Not only will the sites never rank and/or be displayed during mobile searches made by users, but not having this optimization on your domain MAY lead to lower rankings for desktop SERPs as well.
So if you care about your website’s natural search ranking, now is the time to hire that agency that keeps soliciting you to make your site responsive. It’s not too late.
What do I do?
There are two options:
- Re-code your one site to make it “responsive.” This simply means it adapts to screen sizes accordingly.
- Create a separate mobile website. If you go this route, don’t forget to canonicalize the sites together so that it’s obvious they are just different versions of the same site.
What does this mean for the future?
For starters, we actually won’t see the impact of today’s rollout for another week. After which, my best advice is to keep checking into your Google Webmaster Tools profile to monitor your impressions and CTR (click through rate). If the numbers are on the decline, it might mean you’re in danger due to this change.
Of course, we do expect Google to tell those that are in danger to update their site. In fact, they have already been doing this the past several months. Look out for more messages in your GWT account. If Google says your site isn’t optimized for mobile, refer to the solutions mentioned above. And don’t waste time. The longer you take, the more visitors you’re missing out on.
Good luck!
If you need any assistance, Endagon is taking on a few more SEO projects. We’ll be happy to help you navigate through this update.
If you don’t want to go the agency route, reach out to me directly, and I’ll happily consult you on my own.