Not to freak you out or anything, but, according to a recent Google announcement your site can no longer survive the battle royale that is making it to the top of search ranking results without being first optimized for mobile devices, that are mobile-friendly.
So take heed: by April 21st, the search engine behemoth will start gauging your site’s mobile-friendliness as a ranking criterion throughout mobile search results. “Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high-quality search results that are optimized for their devices,” the announcement explained.
This change should not be surprising to anyone, really. Nearly 62% of website traffic is generated by mobile users and one in four online searches are conducted on mobile devices… and those stats are only going to increase as mobile technology becomes the primary means by which people access the internet. It was only a matter of time before Google, whose search ranking algorithm has become even more tight-fisted in recent years, made mobile-friendliness more or less obligatory.
Essentially, if you don’t have a mobile-friendly site yet, you most definitely should–or else you’ll continue to rank lower and lower on search result pages and sink even further behind your competitors.
Take a Mobile-Friendly Test ASAP
It would appear that Google is anticipating some backlash from this announcement, so they’re trying to make it as easy as possible for site owners to optimize their sites for mobile devices. You can take a mobile-friendly test to see just how mobile-capable your site really is, as well as use these guidelines to help you make it mobile-friendly if your site is found lacking.
The choice is yours, of course. The advent of mobile dominance has been approaching for years now and the truth is unavoidable: if you want to engage your potential audience, your website needs to be mobile-friendly. Google is merely hastening users along the bend by penalizing you if you don’t meet them at their level. It’s time to follow suit!
