Last April 21, Google’s newest algorithm revamp came to fruition. This update, announced late last year, favors mobile-friendly websites and will change the way websites are ranked in mobile web searches.
What exactly is a “mobile-friendly” website, you might ask? Simply put, it’s a website that is optimized for viewing on different mobile devices depending on the screen and resolutions. The design adapts to the available viewing space for enhanced user experience.
Now, what does this have to do with your site? According to the same blog post from Google, they will “punish” websites that are not mobile-friendly. As to the extent of punishment, we can only speculate. However, you can easily avoid this punishment by converting your existing site into a mobile-friendly one. We’ll give you five reasons why you should do this now.
Excellent User Experience
According to a ComScore study, at least 73 million Americans accessed the web via a mobile browser in 2010. A website is essentially a tool for sharing content and a mobile-friendly site will make it easier for your users to view and share information. They can view all of the site’s content on their mobile devices as easily as a desktop user. There will be no need to zoom in or out whenever they want to read a post.
Faster Website Load Speed
These days, users get bored when a website takes more than 10 seconds to load. Customizing your site to make it mobile-friendly should allow for faster data loading because the code is structured to be compatible with mobile devices.
Competitive Advantage
A well designed mobile site puts you in a better position against your competitors. If your site does not look good on a mobile device, users will search for one that does. A mobile-friendly site ensures that you capture your visitor’s attention while you have it.
Increased SEO Benefits
Making your site mobile-ready will be beneficial in the long run, especially in terms of rankings in major search engines. A mobile-friendly site is good for search engine optimization (SEO) because the risk of having duplicate content is reduced and your desktop efforts will automatically be converted into mobile version.
Connectivity
If these five reasons are not enough to convince you to go mobile-friendly, consider these as well:
- Mobile-friendly sites encourage your viewers to stay longer on your site because they see your content in a more functional way.
- Reports are consolidated because site analytics tool such as Google Analytics can now handle multiple devices and responsive reporting.
- If it is design you’re worried about, don’t be. A mobile-friendly site maintains a consistent design across devices.
- It is about being forward-looking. As search engines continue to give credence to the impact of a perpetually increasing number of mobile users, it is only fitting to be ready for the future as early as today.
Aside from “a must” for all kinds of sites, a mobile-friendly site is also an investment—not just in terms of appearing in search engines, but also in giving your audience the best browsing experience.