Times are a changing! If you’re a small business owner with a website, there is big news out that can significantly impact your online presence and how your customers find you online. Google made an announcement that as of April 21st, they will start ranking mobile-friendly websites higher on search engine rankings. Sooo, you’re probably wondering what this means for you? Basically, Google will prioritize and rank those sites higher that are optimized for mobile devices such as smartphones and iPads.
If your small business website isn’t responsive and mobile-friendly, then you may start seeing a decrease in website traffic. According to a Google blog post:
“When it comes to search on mobile devices, users should get the most relevant and timely results, no matter if the information lives on mobile-friendly web pages or apps. As more people use mobile devices to access the internet, our algorithms have to adapt to these usage patterns.”
It isn’t enough anymore to just have a basic website to represent your small business.
The numbers prove it: with 77 percent of mobile searches occurring at home and work, it is critical for a small business to ensure their online presence is optimized for these visits.
What makes a website mobile friendly, or responsive? In general terms, the site should provide an optimal viewing experience across a wide variety of mobile devices — it should be easy to read and navigate without the user having to tap or zoom. The website should avoid unplayable content or horizontal zooming.
While Google already penalizes websites that aren’t mobile friendly on mobile searches, they are taking this one step further by using a mobile-friendly designation as a ranking factor to prioritize and rank higher those sites optimized for mobile.
Bottom line? You will be missing out on large amounts of traffic to your website — which means lost dollars in revenue! Contact us today to get a review of your company’s website.