You may be one of those small business owners wondering why they need to make their website mobile-friendly, or you may be a digitally-savvy entrepreneur who does business directly from their tablet or smartphone. No matter what category you fall under, Google search will be going mobile first. What does this mean exactly?
Google going mobile first
As you’ve noticed Google has been continuously investing and improving the way it delivers relevant search results for users on mobile devices. The number of searches performed from mobile devices has gradually increased and now represents more than 50% of all searches. As a result, Google decided that these users can be provided better services by creating a separate mobile index. This index will have priority over the desktop one. Here are the main implications of Google going mobile first:
- Google will first look at the mobile version of your website and assess its ranking signals, and then analyse your desktop version if they can’t find a mobile version
- The mobile index will decide how to rank results, whether your website is desktop-only or mobile responsive
- The desktop version will become a secondary index, less up-to-date
- Having a mobile-friendly design will become vital for your business otherwise you will be down-ranked in Google search
What does this mean for business?
The fact that more and more people around you just take their smartphone out to make a quick Google search or to check their social profiles should be sending you the same signal as this piece of news; ‘’Mobile is the present, desktop will become the past.’’
Your website and online marketing strategy should revolve around mobile users because they have outnumbered those who search products and services from desktop computers.
So, what should you exactly do about Google going mobile first?
How to get ready for Google’s Mobile Index
Focusing on mobile users may be a big change, but not one that is very hard to implement if you enlist the services of a Digital Marketing Agency. Consider the following steps:
- Make your website mobile-friendly
Some businesses may need to redesign their websites completely, but the effort is definitely worth making because the overall success of your online marketing strategy depends on how your website looks and feels to customers. There are plenty of reliable and knowledgeable web design agencies that can do this for you, including Visual Marketing Australia.
- Make phone numbers and addresses visible and clickable
If visitors love your website, Google will love it too. Make sure contact information is accessible so potential customers can email you or give you a call without any trouble. Easiness of use is one of the factors that influence your website’s Google rank.
- Evaluate your mobile page load speed
How fast your website loads is another signal that Google’s algorithm considers when analysing your web pages. A website that is immediately abandoned by users because they need to wait for seconds until it loads will not appear on the first page of Google search results.
- Update your mobile ads
The ads you display on your website need to adapt to the scale of surrounding content- unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. A mismatch between content and ad experience will work against your mobile-friendly strategy and make you lose customers. For the best results enlist the help of a digital marketing agency who specialises in PPC.
So, if you’ve been worrying each time you heard how important mobile responsiveness is for your business but didn’t do anything about it, this is the moment to take the bull by the horns and adapt your website to the requirements of current online marketing.
In the end, it’s all about getting to know your searchers and/or clientele. In order to effectively market to new search patterns and habits, you have to be able to put yourself in the shoes of consumers and this means providing an excellent mobile experience. It’s not Google that you need to seduce here, but searchers who may become your customers.
If you require any assistance please contact us at Visual Marketing Australia.
