Google Mobile Website Update

“Mobilegeddon” is upon us.

Make your website mobile friendly, or suffer the consequences.

Mobile is no longer the future, it’s here and now. For Google mobile its a MUST. After years of warnings and recommendations, Google is releasing its search algorithm update stating, “Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have significant impact in our search results.”

So how exactly does affect you?
If you do not have a mobile friendly site, you are in danger of losing all organic mobile search traffic. Mobile traffic can vary greatly depending on the type of business or website you have. We’ve found that roughly 35% of all traffic to current Brasco /// clients’ websites are from a mobile device – tablet or smartphone. The data shows this number will continue to grow dramatically.

What to do first.
If you are not sure your site is mobile ready, there are many free resources available. No better way than to go straight to the sources mouth. Google provides their guide to mobile-friendly sites and a free Mobile-Friendly Test scan that will verify and/or provide recommendations on getting your site mobile ready.

If you are a webmaster and not using google webmaster tools, stop what you are doing (Ok read the rest of this article first) and get signed up immediately. Webmaster tools will help you understand and improve your site for Google Search. Not only will it identify and help correct mobile issues related to this new Algo update, you can get data, tools and diagnostics

No really, you need to check.
If you haven’t already, its time for a website audit. Brasco /// has been building mobile responsive websites for years, most custom designed websites that are built around our clients branding, marketing efforts, and functionality needs. Once Google announced these new changes, we did what any web developer would do. We began checking our sites. As we found, most of our client sites that have been designed recently are in good shape. However, there are a few instances where Google flagged potential issues that should be addressed to improve optimization and to address new algorithm updates. If you have a relatively new website within the past year you should be in decent shape, but it is still worth having someone take a look to double check. If you have an older site, and especially if it isn’t mobile responsive, you should talk with Brasco /// or someone you trust about doing a website audit. The point is, just because you have a site built for mobile, there may be design related elements that are not optimized for touch devices. Additionally, beyond design or mobile compatibility issues, you may have other important SEO issues that is preventing your website from ranking appropriately. A website and SEO audit is a great first step.

For more questions, you can contact a Brasco /// representative at 919.745.8091 or at info@brascomarketing.   We will be expanding on this topic in an upcoming blog, check back with us.

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