If Your Website Isn't Mobile-Friendly, You're Missing The Boat!

If Your Website Is Not Mobile-Friendly, You’re Missing The Boat!

Well, Google’s at it again! As of this past April 21st, they had released a new algorithm that would bump up those with mobile-friendly websites in the rankings, and also provided the opposite effect to those who’s sites are a little less mobile-friendly.

I know this is old news to a lot of you, however, I for one did not want to jump on the band wagon to contribute to the fear mongering, panic, and pandemonium of the so called day of reckoning, “Mobilegeddon”. So instead, I thought that I would sit back to see how this all plays out before voicing my opinion.

So here we are just over a month later, and for the most part, it appears that the doomsday prophecy had fizzled out to nothing more of a whimper for most. This is not to say that none of the mobile landscape had changed on April 21st, because it certainly has. Some may have been affected more than others. So if you’re one that didn’t notice much of a difference in your rankings, then kudos to you. However, before totally ignoring Google’s mobile guidelines and popping the cork on that expensive bottle of champagne to celebrate all of the money that you saved in web development, you still need to make sure that you have a plan in place to go mobile soon, and here are a few reasons why:

1.) MOBILE IS HERE TO STAY

Mobile isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it is here to stay. Smart phones are continuing to get smarter each and every day. In this post-Mobilegeddon world, your mobile rankings may not have changed much at all. Unless you’re a true doomsdayer, you really shouldn’t have expected much from this anyway. Google has over 200 factors that determine the order of a search result. One of those factors is a mobile-friendly signal. Sure, you’re most likely thinking that this is only one of over 200 factors and is not going to make that much of a difference. Wrong! As mobile begins to become a bigger player in the search engine realm, this factor is likely going to grow in importance. Google has been pushing for a more mobile-friendly internet for quite some time now and they are not going to walk away from this quietly.

2.) A SEPARATE MOBILE INDEX IS IN THE WORKS

A bombshell was dropped at this year’s Search Marketing Expo that stated that Google has a separate mobile index in the works. This means that Google will soon be able to provide separate search indexes for mobile and desktop devices. Not only is this in the works, but Google currently has a team working on it, which definitely means this has gone well beyond the “Well, this would be a really cool idea” stage.

3.) MOBILE DEVICE USAGE CONTINUES TO GROW EVERY DAY

Within the past few weeks, Google had finally announced that mobile search was number one. Yes, this means that there are more Google searches performed on mobile devices than on desktop PC’s. Now this does not necessarily mean that your industry receives more mobile searches than desktop searches. Mobile is catching up across every industry, however, it is still quite rare for a website to receive more mobile than desktop searches. I’m fairly certain that you most likely will be unable to find any examples that show a decline in mobile device usage. Technology is becoming better, phones are getting faster, and we’re quickly moving closer to a generation where the majority of consumers have grown up using mobile devices.

4.) YOUR CONVERSION RATE IS NEGATIVELY BEING AFFECTED BY A NON-MOBILE FRIENDLY WEBSITE

There’s no secret to that fact that mobile-friendly websites convert at a higher rate than non-mobile friendly sites. In fact, mobile device users are more likely to make a purchase or complete a contact form when a website is mobile friendly. Why? Because it’s easier. When a shopping cart doesn’t render perfectly on a smart phone, or when the contact form doesn’t fit on the screen, that’s just one more reason for a user not to make a purchase or choose a different company. Now while it’s practically impossible to predict exactly how much of a difference a mobile-friendly website will have on your conversions, we have seen some websites with over a 50% increase in conversions after going mobile-friendly.

IN CONCLUSION…

So before you find yourself as a castaway sitting on a deserted island having a conversation with a volleyball about how your competition is sitting on the upper deck of that cruise ship sailing into the sunset, how about taking a proactive approach and go mobile-friendly now? It’s no longer a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. You can only procrastinate and coast by with your current site for so long before it will eventually catch up to you. A mobile-friendly website may seem like a costly expenditure at the moment, but it will lead to more traffic, more leads, and more sales in the future. It’s an investment in your future and not just a quick solution to appease a search engine.

Your first step would be to enter your url into this mobile-friendly test that Google provides to find out if your website currently has any issues.

If you find that your site is not mobile-friendly, your next step would be to contact us for a free consultation. We’ll be happy to take a look under the hood of your current site and tell you what steps we can take to make your website mobile-friendly.