Google keeps updating its algorithm to bring better and relevant results for the search queries. On 21st April 2015, Google rolled out the mobile-friendly update. It is one of the major updates in this decade. The prime purpose of this update is to make Mobile Internet surfing easy and effortless. Here are the things you need to know about Google’s mobile-friendly update.
Why Mobile-Friendly Update Was Necessary
In the recent years, Mobile Internet users have exponentially increased. Today, more than 50% of Internet traffic comes from mobile phones, and it is expected to increase further. To make the Internet surfing more user-friendly, it is essential to make the websites mobile-friendly. Hence, Google’s mobile-friendly update was necessary to serve this purpose.
Changes That Google Brought To Its Algorithm
Google has updated its algorithm so that the search results should lead to content that is easily readable across all mobile phones. After the Mobile-Friendly Update, here are the qualities your website needs to have to rank well:
● Screen-Friendly: Content on a website should have fluid characteristics. That is the content should fit across various screen sizes.
● Easy To View: There should be no necessity of zooming-in, zooming-out or horizontal scrolling to view the entire page.
● Easy To Tap: Links and other elements in the website should be easy to tap.
● Scalable Fonts: Website should include fonts that scale for easier reading across all devices.
● Free From Flash Like Technologies. Etc.
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Update:
● Does not affect search ranking on desktops.
● Solely affects search ranking on mobile phones.
● Applies to individual pages, not the entire website.
● Affects search results for all languages equally.
How To Find Out Whether Your Site Is Mobile-Friendly or Not?
You can test individual mobile pages with the help of Mobile-Friendly Test. You can also find out status of the full website via Mobile usability report in webmaster tools. Nonmobile-friendly pages of your website results in reduction of web traffic, as Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites over nonmobile-friendly sites.
Impact Of Google’s Mobile-Friendly Update
After the update, mobile friendliness has become a ranking signal. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Update can bring positive or negative impact to your website depending on whether your web pages are mobile-friendly or not. The mobile-friendly website will have a better search engine ranking over the websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. Although it is important for a website to be mobile-friendly, but it is not the only criteria. A website should obviously have fresh, original and high-quality content.
What If Your Website Fails Mobile-Friendly Test?
Failing mobile-friendly test will definitely have a negative impact on website traffic and online visibility. Recommendations provided post Mobile-Friendly Test can do a pretty good job in optimizing your website for mobiles. With these recommendations or suggestions, you can easily fix mobile usability issues and errors across the site. Lack of responsive web design has been the major and the most popular reason to fail this test. It can be fixed only if the website is rebuilt.
