April 21. It’s the day business owners across the globe were dreading thanks to the looming Google algorithm changes which were to penalise websites that, among other things, weren’t mobile friendly.
Thankfully, Google gave us enough notice that many millions of businesses were able to prepare for the changes, so they avoided what was being dubbed ‘Mobilegeddon’. However, not everyone was able to ready themselves in time and, for them, we’ve put together a handy guide to what they can do post-April 21 to get their sites updated in accordance with Google’s sweeping changes.
Of course, by now your website will have been judged by Google’s new algorithm on it’s mobile responsiveness and ranked against more than half of Australia’s biggest companies, who will all but disappear from Google search results on mobile devices.
First of all, you’re not alone.
Let’s get some perspective
Labels
As algorithms go, there are multiple determining factors that will decide where in listings your website appears on mobile devices. After taking into the account these factors, Google will identify whether or not your site is mobile-friendly and label you accordingly, using a text label beneath the URL in the search preview displaying “Mobile-friendly”. According to Search Engine Land, to attain this coveted label, your website must meet the following criteria:
- display links with enough space between them so the chosen link can be selected without accidentally pressing nearby hyperlinked text…Chubby fingers rejoice!
- size content and text to fit mobile screens meaning users don’t need to zoom or scroll relentlessly in any direction…Single-handedly THE most annoying feature of unresponsive sites.
- avoid software like Flash, now rarely used on mobile devices…Pretty to look at, clumsy to load!
For more ways to keep the Google bots happy, see their Webmaster’s 7 common mistakes with mobile SEO.
What do I do now?
Here’s what NOT to do: sit around and wait until you feel ready make the transition to a responsive site. It’s not about you; it’s about your customers’ increasingly mobile search habits and your competitors that are showing up pages before your listing ever will. For a simple website, it can take as little as a couple of hours for Google to completely crawl your site and establish eligibility for the Mobile-friendly label, but it may take as long as a couple of weeks for the algorithm to be completely rolled out world-wide in every language. For more on the timelines, see Google’s Q&A below.
And, of course, if you need your website redesigned, don’t forget to call our
All aboard the mobile train!
Unless you have a dedicated web designer at ready to help with your move into Google’s new mobile search space, consider Easy Weddings’ website design packages and support services, including mobile-friendly design, two years’ domain registration and 12 months’ Australian-based hosting. Give our Customer Care team a call on 1800 155 122 to learn about how we can help you keep up with Google’s latest algorithm changes, or leave your website URL in the comments and our design team will be in touch to discuss your readiness for #Mobilegeddon.
