Google Launches New Mobile Web Design Update.
April 21st, Google throws the switch and starts ranking all websites based on this simple little test: Click here. Your website needs to be mobile friendly or officially called RWD (responsive web design) or the penalty will be significant. Now, we hear this kind of SEO Armageddon banter all the time but I’m afraid this one is for real. As a matter of fact, Google has stated that this will be the most significant algorithm update that they have ever launched. You must remember that most of their updates affect 2% to 5% of the websites at a time. This will affect them all! Every website will be judged and reranked by the 28th of April at the latest according to Google’s announcements; which they don’t make too many of anymore.
Search Engine Land wrote on March 12th that an average site that does not comply to the “mobile friendly” edict will lose anywhere between 19% and 27% of their traffic. Most of us has known for a couple years now that mobile was growing and that it now represents an average of 30% of all traffic to your site. The nice thing for some of our clients is that they will probably get a bump in traffic while the webmasters who have procrastinated will suffer until they get their act together.
Google’s New Mobile Search Engine
The next bit of news is that Google is also going to launch a “Mobile Search Engine”. I don’t think we have heard whether you would have to select it when on your mobile device and I kind of doubt it. I also have not heard a date, but if anyone thinks this will be the last mobile update, you are sadly mistaken. Just about everyone in the know thinks that this is the first step and they will follow with other updates as Google sees how users behave on certain web designs.
We are busy finishing up all of our larger clients with dozens to hundreds of websites to make sure all are compliant. Our folks at 1st-page; our SEO company are buried right now and working long shifts in order to get every site finished by by the 21st of next month. Stay tuned for the next post. I will be describing reputation marketing and sharing several of our articles on the reputation marketing blog.
Lastly, I have found this amazing website with incredible free graphics that anyone can use as they wish. So, I think I’m going to be using their graphics from time to time even though they may not be relevant to the subject matter that I’m writing about. That’s why you see the palm trees right in the middle of the article. Why not have a little distraction while talking about Google’s new dictums? Enjoy!