Mobile web is here (but it’s not all bad)
In April, the all-mighty Google announced a major algorithm change that would see responsive sites rank higher than non-responsive sites. Since then, webmasters, digital marketers and business owners alike have all been awaiting the fall out of “Mobilegeddon”.
Turns out, the change hasn’t been as bad as was expected. Here’s what’s happened and what you need to know moving forward.
What has been the effect?
The reality is that Google’s new “mobile-preferred” algorithm doesn’t apply to all devices or results yet. It only affects search rankings on mobile devices, and it applies only to individual pages, not the entire website. So, if you’re market uses desktop as their primary search platform, things aren’t all bad. And if not, it only applies to a single page, not your entire site.
As far as the analytics go, it seems that Google hasn’t put much weight on responsiveness in rankings yet. For those who made the switch to a mobile-friendly web design, many haven’t seen the dramatic increase in rankings as expected. And for those who stayed put, the effect (at least at this early stage) seems small, with only a few reporting dropped rankings on some of their keywords but not all.
That said, it has only been a few months and it may take time for the true effects to be felt.
Consider this before updating to mobile-friendly
Responsive design is fast becoming an expectation among key demographics, and it’s particularly important if you’re looking to drive online sales. However, there can be risks to making the shift too quickly to mobile-friendly. For instance, an untested mobile design of a web page with high conversion could actually cause conversions to drop.
While we don’t want to downplay the significance of responsive design as an important factor in influencing online user behaviour, we must remember that it is one signal among 200 Google uses to evaluate the best results. So, as long as everything is ok with your website, it’s probably better to wait and see.
In the meantime, why not spend time optimising your site instead. There are many effective search engine optimisation (SEO) tricks you could focus on for the time being, that may reap even more rewards.
However, if you are ready to make the switch why not speak to our team of digital marketers and web designers. Factory is an award-winning, full service digital agency in Brisbane. For more than ten years, we’ve been helping hundreds of clients grow through intelligent web solutions. So, why not leverage our experience and get us working for you today.
