You might already know this but if you don’t, we would like to inform you that Google will start penalizing websites that don’t have a mobile version starting on April 21.
Have you made your website mobile friendly?
If not, you are potentially looking at lost traffic and a big drop in search engine rankings.
Want to know if your website passes the tests?
Google has created a Mobile-Friendly Test where you can see if your website passes the following list of criteria:
- Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
- Uses text that is readable without zooming
- Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
- Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped
Also:
- Read Google’s updated documentation on their Webmasters Mobile Guide on how to create and improve your mobile site
- See the Mobile usability report in Google Webmaster Tools, which highlights major mobile usability issues across your entire site, not just one page
- If your site is running on a CMS (Content Management System) like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal you can check out Google’s How-To Guide for Third-Party Software to see some tips on updating to a mobile-friendly template.
Did your website pass the tests?
– If your website passed the tests congratulations.
– If your site failed to pass the tests you should be concerned and act fast, but it isn’t a reason to panic. A lot of good companies haven’t had the resources or knowledge required to make the needed changes to their sites. You need to understand that requires a complete restructuring, redesign and rebuild of a website in a lot of cases, so it takes time and talent to do so.
The bottom line is to not take this news lightly. Mobile and tablet usage will continue to rise, and therefore Google will pursue algorithm updates to favor websites that work properly on these devices. Get your site fixed now or suffer the consequences of potentially losing business in the near future.
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