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Book a consultationHave you survived mobile armageddon?
Were you ready when #Mobilegeddon hit? Google rolled out their updated, mobile friendly search parameters several days ago now, yet many sites and companies seem to be lagging behind or even stubbornly holding out against the pressure to adapt to Google’s standard.
The changes require individual pages (not even the whole site) to meet a relatively simple set of requirements set out in the announcement notice linked to above. Basically, sites need to be easy to use for mobile users. This means readable text, easily tappable links and no horizontal scrolling.
How will it affect me?
Google makes it clear that the update only applies to the search rankings on mobile devices. Even so, the mobile market accounts for such a significant share of site traffic on most sites that to miss out on the Google search mobile traffic could have a significant impact on visits, with a knock on effect for the business of the company itself.
Widespread unreadiness even among Fortune 500
Despite this fact, it seems that even among the worlds most successful companies, many company sites weren’t ready for the change. Among the Fortune 500, over 40% of companies failed to pass the “mobile friendly test” Google made available in the lead up to the changes. Whilst companies of that size might well be able to ride the wave on account of their huge brand recognition and site SEO built on a massive collection of external links, even they ought to be wary of the fact that many of their potential clients are now accessing their sites via mobile devices. Google’s decision hasn’t come out of the blue, it makes total sense given internet users inclination and shift towards mobile browsing.
For businesses without the brand recognition clout of a Fortune 500 company, the switch to mobile readiness is even more imperative. What’s more, if your site is mobile friendly now, it can give you a competitive edge over your unready competitors, at least in the short term.
How do I check my site?
If you’re not sure about the mobile friendliness of your site, it’s easy enough to check. Google recommend using their test (linked above) to check individual pages, or the Mobile Usability report function in Webmaster Tools to check your entire site. Alternatively, try simply resizing your browser window: if the site changes to fit the new window size, it’s ready, if it doesn’t, you probably need to make some changes sooner rather than later!
An easy fix for a competitive advantage
What’s especially baffling about the decision not to go mobile friendly, is that the process is a relatively easy one. Ekreative gets sites mobile ready all the time and could do the same for you. For a simple cms site you could expect the changes to be ready in 5 to 8 working days, for more complicated sites a couple of weeks to a month, depending on the site. The sooner you set the process in motion, the sooner you can get your mobile traffic back! So go to our contact page, get in touch and lets get your site mobile friendly now!