Here lately online marketers have been freaking out about Google’s latest algorithm update set to hit on April 21st. In this newest update, they have revealed that if your website isn’t mobile friendly then you could lose rankings. A few reliable sources have also mentioned that this latest algorithm could have a bigger impact then Panda and Penguin both combined.
These changes will affect marketers worldwide and will be applied to search results from all across the globe targeting all languages.
How much of the search market comes from just mobile devices alone?
Did you know that mobile devices are responsible for over 80% of the search market? This number is constantly on the rise as more and more people are using their smartphones to shop online, search for product reviews, or look up local business phone numbers.
Google has noticed this and they’re always looking for ways to improve the overall user experience of websites listed in their search engines. Another thing to keep in mind is that if someone visits your website from a mobile device and they have a hard time navigating through it chances are that they will likely leave and go to one of your competitors instead who offer a better mobile experience.
I never really put much thought into how people were finding my site, or where they were coming from until a few weeks ago when this update was announced. Since then, I have done a little digging and checked my Google Analytics to see just exactly how many people were coming to my site from a mobile device.
Here is what I found and I was quite shocked at these numbers.
Check out what I found below!
This is a period of just 3 short months and as you see above 39% are visiting my website on either their smartphone or tablet. While desktop users make up for the other 61% it’s important to realize that these numbers are constantly changing.
Another thing that I observed was that I gained 38.74% of new users just from mobile devices alone. As time goes on I’m sure that these numbers will constantly be on the rise.
What can you do to make sure your website is mobile friendly?
If your site isn’t mobile friendly don’t freak out too much. There’s an easy way to check and see how your site looks on a mobile device and see whether or not Google considers your site mobile friendly or not. They have released a testing tool where all you need to do is simply enter your website URL and click on analyze.
Check out your website here by using their mobile friendly testing tool here
If it passes the test then you have nothing to worry about. If it doesn’t, then there are a few things you can do to make sure you don’t lose any rankings in the search engines as well as providing a better user experience for your visitors.
How can you fix your site to avoid getting hit by this newest algorithm and provide a better user experience?
There are actually a few simple ways to fix your site to avoid losing rankings if your site doesn’t appear mobile friendly. The #1 way that I would recommend is to simply change your theme to a more responsive one that not only looks good on your smartphone but also looks good on any mobile device.
If you visit my website often you may have noticed that I have just changed my theme as well to a more responsive design and one that offers my users an overall better experience. While my other theme did pass Google’s test and they said my site was mobile friendly, when I viewed it on my phone I wasn’t happy with the way it looked and I had a close friend tell me the same thing.
Just keep in mind that if you change your theme you will need to add your Google Analytics tracking code to your site again or it will report that you aren’t getting any traffic to it.
Changing your theme can be pretty frustrating and could take you hours to tweak it and adjust it to the way you want it to look. I spent over 4 hours just making the changes so I know how frustrating it can be. For those of you who don’t want to change your theme, there is something else you can do to make your website mobile friendly and avoid hours of frustration.
If you do a search for mobile friendly plugins you will find that this will do the job as well and is a quick fix. Although I don’t recommend that you have a lot of plugins on your site due to the fact that this could slow it down. This is a last resort but something I did to one of my other sites that didn’t pass the mobile friendly test.
Want to stay up to date on the newest algorithm updates before they happen?
The place that has taught me everything about building successful websites and how to stay up to date on providing the best user experience for my website visitors is Wealthy Affiliate. In the 2 years I have been with them I have built many successful websites that rank on the first page of Google and continue to comply with all the algorithm updates.
Most people freak out whenever they hear about these updates, but I actually look forward to them as it gives me a boost in the search results and I get more traffic to my site. As long as you are doing everything you should be and you aren’t doing any black hat SEO you are have nothing to worry about.
I really hope this post has helped everyone out here and if you were freaking out about this before you came here then hopefully I have been about to ease your mind about this. If you have any questions about this or anything you would like to add please leave it below for me.
I will get back to you A.S.A.P!
Your Friend, Scott
Up until now or I should say when this update occurs having a responsive theme was just a good thing to have for mobile users.
But now it’s a must have.
Especially since Google is going to use the mobile friendliness of your site as a mobile ranking signal.
I would say and like you mentioned head to Google analytics and see just how much mobile traffic your site(s) are getting.
Like you I bet most people will be surprised.
Also understanding (knowing) how much of your traffic comes from mobile will determine the urgency at which you need to make your site mobile friendly.
If you’re getting very little mobile traffic then there is no need to panic if your site is not up to date by April 21st.
Yes still update your site – but it’s not going to kill your business.
Unlike and for example a site such as your that gets a lot of mobile traffic not being up to date prior to this update could have a negative affect of your site (business)
Thanks for keeping everyone up to date.
Cheers
Leo
Hi Leo,
Yea before now I wasn’t really worried about how people found my site or how it looked on a mobile device. I knew that mobile devices were gaining more traction and more and more people were using their smartphone or tablet to buy stuff online. Now that this new update is being rolled out in the next couple weeks I changed my theme to a more responsive mobile friendly theme one so that my website wouldn’t be affected.
I agree that if everyone checks their Google Analytics to see how much of their traffic comes from mobile, I’m sure they will be just as shocked as I was. If you are getting a little or a lot of mobile traffic I would still advise you to make sure you have a responsive theme that will present your content in the best way possible no matter where your traffic is coming from.
I want to thank you for dropping by Leo and chiming in on this discussion.
Cheers,
Your Friend, Scott
Hi Scott- Thanks for this informative article.I used the mobile testing tool you provided and found that my site was mobile friendly. You have packed a lot of useful information in this post, and I went back as you did to check Google Analytics, to see just exactly how many people were coming to my site from a mobile device.Thanks to your post I am now going to keep an eye on this and adjust as necessary.
~Tom
Hi Tom,
You are most welcome and I’m glad this article has helped you out. It’s great to hear that your website has passed the test and it’s mobile friendly. People need to be aware of this update so they know what they need to do to make sure they’re ready when April 21st hits. If you know where your traffic is coming from and how people are finding your website it will help you optimize it for a better user experience.
Just by doing this it will give you a boost in the search engines and help your overall conversions. I want to thank you so much for stopping by Tom and chiming in on this discussion.
Cheers
Your Friend, Scott