On April 21, Google rolled out their “Mobile-Friendly Update” and any time there is an update from Google there is a fair amount of confusion (and even panic) in the marketplace. So let’s take a closer look at the official news release from Google.
In its official Webmaster Central Blog, Google stated:
“We’re boosting the ranking of mobile-friendly pages on mobile search results.”
They then went on to make the following points:
- The update affect mobile (phone) search results only. Searches performed from a tablet or desktop computer will not be altered.
- The update affects pages not websites. Therefore, if a page of your website is not mobile-friendly, it may affect the rankings of that page, not necessarily the entire site.
- High quality content is still important. Google will continue to evaluate content as it always has. Mobile-friendliness is only one component of their search algorithm. A page that is not mobile-friendly could still rank high if it has great content.
The update clearly states that it is rewarding mobile-friendly sites rather than penalizing sites that are not mobile friendly. This is an important distinction because it means that if your site is not mobile-friendly, it will not be “dropped” in rankings as a result. However, if a good portion of your competitors have mobile-friendly sites and great content, you could see them jump you in rankings.
The good news is that if you do see your site slip as a result of this update, you can make the appropriate adjustments to your website and this will help you to regain any ground you may have lost.
To test your site for mobile-friendliness, click here to access Google’s Free Mobile Friendly Test.
If you have questions or would like to get a quote for converting your site to be mobile-friendly, please contact us at info@onlineprofitstrategy.com or call (951) 234-5943.
