It was predicted that 2014 would have been a milestone, when the number of Google searches carried out on mobile devices would surpass that of PCs. Although Google remains secretive about the exact proportion of mobile versus desktop search, it is estimated that half of searches do indeed come from smartphones and tablets.
Mobile search is not just for local businesses
Mobile searches are frequently associated with local searches – when you are on the go, you look up near restaurants/grocery shops/pharmacies/cinemas/hardware stores… But whilst mobile search is crucial to prosperity of local businesses, it has equally become of strategic importance to companies with international exports and business. This is due to the changing habits of how people use mobile devices. Mobile search is no longer restricted to “urgent” matters, when you need to find a pharmacy immediately within walking distance, but increasingly more popular among people who spend time doing their research (personal or business related) while traveling on public transport. Or when searching on their tablet from the comfort of their favorite armchair. These behavioral changes together with possibility to order products online mean that businesses’ geographical proximity is no longer the number one factor in mobile search. Mobile search matters whether you are selling high quality furniture, sports accessories, outdoor clothing, automobile parts, or specialty food.
What is the Google update about?
Google is renowned for keeping their search algorithm (composed of over 200 factors) a secret, only releasing hints on optimizing websites in forms of guidelines and blogs. It is also renowned for revising their algorithm every now and then and when this happens, it has the power to bring businesses down. A number of companies, whose revenue relied heavily on buyers coming from Google, suddenly disappeared from the search results following one of Google’s algorithm updates. This time Google sends their warning and advice over a month before the planned update, so you can take action in time and ensure you will not disappear! As of the 21st April, Google announced there will be more mobile-friendly websites in search results. Mobile-friendliness will become a ranking signal, impacting all mobile searches across all countries and languages, mixing up the search results. According to Zineb Ait Bahaji (Google Webmaster Trends Analyst), this update will have even more impact than all previous updates, including Penguin and Panda. In other words, if your website is not mobile-friendly, it will be downgraded from mobile search results to the point, that it will no longer be found by your customers.
Google is the number one search engine in Europe, with market share of over 95% in most European countries. Read our ebook to learn how to optimize your European websites.
How to create a mobile-friendly website?
A modern solution is a responsive design. As opposed to mobile versions of websites, it does not create a duplicate of your current website adjusted to mobiles and it does not require you to maintain and update it separately from your main website. Responsive design automatically adjusts content to correspond to various screen sizes, from large screen desktops to laptops, tablets, phablets and smartphones. It looks professional, does not require ongoing maintenance and will have the capacity to rank well for both desktop and mobile Google searches.
Responsive design will also bring benefits to your other website visitors. Over 30% of Facebook users use only mobile devices for access. Therefore having a mobile friendly content is crucial to those who want to drive traffic from social networks and provide their visitors with a good user experience.
So make sure you are on the winning end of this algorithm update and increase your visibility worldwide!