Today, Google is updating it’s mobile search algorithm so that mobile-friendly web sites (ones with large text, easy-to-click links, and that resize to fit whatever screen they’re viewed on) will rank higher in search than non-mobile sites.
In fact, websites that aren’t mobile-friendly will get demoted, regardless of how relevant your content is to searches.
The media is calling it “Mobile-geddon” because of how “apocalyptic” it could be for millions of websites – both big brands and small businesses.
But, what does “mobile-friendly” really mean?
Well, first of all, Google is adding a “mobile-friendly” label to search results (see image to the right) so people searching on their mobile devices – which, let’s face it, that’s nearly everyone today, can confirm the status of the site before clicking.
How Do I Know If My Site is “Mobile-Friendly?
- Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
- Uses text that is readable without zooming
- Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
- Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped
- Check your pages with the Mobile-Friendly Test
- Read Google’s updated documentation on our Webmasters Mobile Guide on how to create and improve your mobile site
- See the Mobile usability report in Google Webmaster Tools, which highlights major mobile usability issues across your entire site, not just one page
- Check out Google’s how-to guide for third-party software like WordPress or Joomla, in order to migrate your website hosted on a CMS (Content Management System) to use a mobile-friendly template