A month ago we warned you about the upcoming change that Google is making to its search algorithm. Some are calling it “Mobilegeddon” while others have coined it the “Google-Mobile-Apocalypse.” Whatever moniker you decide on for this change is not important; the only thing you need to focus on now is how you are going to make up for lost traffic once the iron fist of Google comes down. And you better act quickly: the search algorithm change is happening in a week--April 21, 2015.
What is “mobile friendly” anyway?
As more and more people are using their phones to search for things online, it’s important for Google to ensure that the results they are getting are optimized for the best user experience...hence the need for this algorithm change. Having a “mobile friendly” website is defined by Inbound Marketing Agents as “responsive to different screen sizes, properly configured and able to be viewed on multiple devices.”
Still not sure if your website is mobile friendly? Here are a couple of tools that will quickly answer that question:
- Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test - Simply enter your website’s URL and Google will thoroughly analyze the page and report back whether they consider it to be mobile friendly or not.
- Mobile Usability Report - Within Google’s Webmaster Tools is now a functionality that will check for mobile usability errors throughout your website. This gives you a great indication of what is wrong with your site from a mobile perspective as well as tips to fix it.
My website isn’t mobile friendly, what do I do!? I don’t want to lose traffic.
With just a week until Google’s algorithm change is implemented, there’s not enough time left for you to completely re-design your website before “Mobilegeddon.” However, if your site isn’t mobily optimized, having it re-done is something you should definitely consider in the near future. Your traffic will still be affected with the algorithm change on April 21, but it’s better late than never to make your website mobile friendly.
In the meantime, here are a couple of strategies you can implement immediately to make up for the decrease in traffic you’re going to see:
- PPC Advertising - Yes, pay-per-click advertising can get expensive, but the lost traffic from Google’s algorithm change will be even more costly for your business in the long run. One great thing with this advertising strategy, however, is that with Google AdWords you can specifically target mobile users with your ads--the exact traffic you will be losing thanks to the new algorithm change. With that being said, it won’t change the bad user experience on your site due to it not being mobile friendly.
- Email Marketing - If you’re not using email marketing for your business, you need to start now. Read our white paper, “10 Reasons Why Email Marketing Should Be In Your Mix.” And if you are currently sending out consistent email campaigns, it’s time to ramp it up so that you can continue to get traffic to your website. Be careful not to look spammy with your efforts, though; you have to have a solid strategy in place.
This is going to be one of the biggest changes we’ve seen to search engine optimization (SEO) in years, and a lot of websites are going to see a negative impact from Google’s algorithm change next week. Earlier this month, Portent tested out 25,000 of the top websites around the world for mobile usability and the results were shocking: 10,000 failed. That’s 40%. Being mobile friendly is about to become more important than ever, and you need to take the steps necessary now to minimize the damage you will incur when the change is implemented next week.
Need help with your website or have questions about mobile usability? Contact Marketing Essentials today at 419.629.0080 and we will be happy to help!
