Are you mobile friendly?
On 21 April 2015, Google made a major change to the way it ranks websites. The Masters of the Web have devised a new algorithm for evaluating your business website that will have substantial impact on your place in the search rankings. For those of you who know about Google algorithms, this new one will trump Panda and Penguin, according to Google’s Zineb Ait Bahajji.
Just to recap, Panda is the algorithm that assesses the quality of the content on your site, and the reason that every website needs original content written by competent writers. Penguin tracked down sites buying links to boost its page ranking. So, far Google hasn’t announced what animal name they’re giving to this new baby.
What it means for your business website, your blog or your landing page, is that they must all be optimised for mobile – that’s phones, tablets and iPad. Google announced this new move in February and while there has been plenty written about the change and how to prepare for it, there’s a chance that you might have forgotten to do anything about it.
This is what Google said about the new algorithm:
Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.
If your site isn’t optimised for mobile, you may see your page rankings take a dive.
Google has provided a free tool where you can test just how mobile-friendly your site is. Don’t panic if you get a “Not mobile-friendly” result. Google does tell you exactly where your page is going wrong in ‘mobile’ terms, but this can look rather daunting and if you’re comfortable with technical instructions, that’s when you give Peppermint a call.
Peppermint has been providing bespoke website design for clients in Spain and the UK for several years and our web designers know the importance of keeping abreast of all new developments. Don’t let your website slide down the rankings for the sake of some professional tweaks that will keep you Google-friendly by being mobile-friendly. And don’t leave it too late!
Contact Jade Thompson at Peppermint for a ‘no obligation’ chat about your website. Tel: +34 951 316 553 or email info@peppermintcreate.com