It used to be that having a website was important and overtime, smart companies complied with this thought of making themselves more visible and either put in the work to create a site or paid someone with the skill and know-how to build a site for them.
Then, along came the mobile age. Whether it is a cellular phone or the tablet of choice, many people are viewing the web via a handheld device. Your once sufficient website is now quickly becoming outdated.
Without the ability to be viewed in a mobile friendly format, the web experience for visitors is less than perfect. Users have to put in more effort to make sure they can navigate the site and this can be a huge turnoff.
Now, Google is stepping in and putting in place a change to boost rankings for mobile-friendly pages worldwide. In short, this means that if your site is not in a mobile friendly format, it will not rank the same when searched on a mobile device. This will not however, change search results for desktop or laptop computer.
Let’s review a few key questions you may have regarding this change:
Q. Why is this important if only mobile devices are effected when searching my site?
A. In 2014, the number of searches performed on mobile devices surpassed those on a desktop or laptop computer. If more people are using mobile to search the internet, you could really be missing out when traffic is referred via a web search.
Q. What if some of my pages are mobile friendly but others are not?
A. Only the pages that are not mobile friendly will be affected. Other pages will continue to rank as they should across all platforms.
Q. How will I know if my site is mobile friendly?
A. Google has given us this great tool for this. Analyzing could take a moment but know that once your results show, it will give feedback (if needed) such as font issues, link issues, not mobile friendly, etc. You will also see links to help you fix the site. If you are not sure you understand or simply want outside help for any reason, RMB Agency is excited to help bring the changes you need!
Q. Does it matter if my site is set up to for mobile vs having a responsive design?
A. While new(er) designed sites are opting for a responsive design (one that automatically responds and adjusts to give the best experience to whatever device or computer is being used), Google will not take this into consideration. If your site is mobile friendly (regardless of the method), your site will not be affected by the current changes. Depending upon the set-up of your current site, adding a mobile version may not be an overly difficult task. If you are unsure, feel free to reach out to us and let us help you see what options may be available to you at this time.
Q. How do I know what kind of traffic I am getting on my site?
A. Analytics. By having a stat counter installed, you will be able to see so much information about your visitors that will help you to know more than just what device is being used to view your site.
Q. What if I see that most of my traffic is from a computer and not a mobile device? Do I still need to make changes?
A. Absolutely! We are in an age where mobile is gold. How many people do you know that do not own a mobile device? Of those people, consider the ages. While the older generation may not own mobile devices, the younger generation does and their use is expected to grow, grow, grow. What got you here, won’t get you there, so make sure you are taking the important steps now to stay in the game and current with the times.
If you’d like an analysis of your current site and what improvements RMB is able to help facilitate, please reach out! We’d love to help you stay relevant in this age when change is considered a constant.
