Going Mobile Isn’t Recommended, It’s Required.

Google has just released that on April 21, 2015, they will be rolling out a new update that will use a website’s mobile friendliness to help determine organic search ranking. Unlike other ranking factors, mobile friendliness can be determined in a simple yes or no answer, which makes the mobile compatibility of your website a requirement, not just a mere recommnedation.

Determining If Your Page is Mobile-Friendly

Although the announcement of the new mobile-friendly update isn’t surprising for San Diego SEOs and internet marketers, it has left some business owners anxious about how their website may be impacted organically. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to find out if your website is mobile-friendly or not:

1. Look up your website from your mobile device

   Search your business in Google from your smartphone or other mobile device.  If there is a small, gray mobile-friendly label in the description snippet, your website is mobile-friendly.

2. Use Google’s mobile-friendly testing tool

   Google, of course, has also released a mobile-friendly testing tool which allows webmasters to see if their site passes or fails the mobile-friendly test. Simply enter your website URL into the box and hit analyze. Along with an answer, you will also see a picture of a cellphone showing how Googlebot reads your page.

Making Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Google has also published information about how to make your website mobile-friendly, which includes tips about updating your CMS to the latest version (only after backing up your website), making sure any custom themes are mobile-friendly, and reviewing support forums to help solve any issues that may be common or your website’s particular software whether it’s WordPress, Joomla! or Drupal.

Now, if you’re like many small business owners with websites, you likely didn’t set up your website yourself. You understand the importance of making your website mobile-friendly, but you sure don’t know what CMS is. That’s completely natural and Google recognizes this. The company recommends working with a professional web developer so long as he or she can:

• Share a portfolio of mobile-friendly websites to ensure credibility
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of Google webmaster guidelines, as well as your mobile customer
• Effectively update website attributes such as website speed
• Guarantee continual improvement to your mobile website after initial launch

If you’re looking to make your website mobile friendly, reach out to Saba, Inc. With more than ten years in the SEO and internet marketing industry, our professional and experienced San Diego web designers can not only make sure your website meets the mobile-friendly standards outlined by Google, but that your website’s design and aesthetic appeals to your target market. Call us today at 858-277-1717 for a free website audit and request a consultation!