Did it hit you? Many sites found that, overnight, they went from indexing well on Google to invisible in the top ten results. The reason? They failed to create mobile-friendly options for their visitors who were coming to the site from tablets or mobile phones. Mobile is especially important for locally-oriented businesses such as construction, since many prospects will use their phones when checking out local companies.
What is Mobilegeddon?
Google rarely announces algorithms, so, the mobile update was an exception. But, that's because Google had a very specific request for webmasters: make your site more accessible by mobile. You can do this either through redirects to a mobile-optimized site or through using responsive design.
The mobile market is expanding, and Google is eager to maintain marketshare. Fully 80% of internet users own a smart phone. Nearly half own a tablet. And, they are using these devices more often. Some users have replaced their PCs with mobile devices entirely.
If your sites lost traction when the mobile algorithm went into effect after April 21, there are things that you can do to regain your spot.
Find Out How Bad It Is
The first step is to find out how severely you were hit by the mobile algorithm penalties. Use Google Analytics to compare your performance before and after the switch. If you see a huge drop-off in traffic, especially from mobile surfers, you need to make changes right away. In some cases, for instance people who have completely Flash-based sites, you can find your site de-indexed from mobile search altogether. But, if traffic is holding pretty steady, you probably have time to make some changes. Make a list of what needs to be fixed, decide how important each fix is and how difficult it is to implement it. Then, work your way down the list from the most to least important priorities.
If your traffic has been hurt or if you know that you are not indexing well when you were before, start with the following:
- Check your site for mobile-friendliness.Google has a testing tool that will analyze any URL and give information about things on your site that can be holding mobile users back. The testing tool will show you how Googlebot sees the page and what, if any, things are not working for mobile visitors.
- Switch to a responsive template.If you use WordPress or another CMS to run your site, switching to a template with responsive design should be a quick and easy fix. Responsive design refers to templates that will automatically resize themselves to properly fit on whatever screen the visitor uses.
- Remove anything that doesn't play well with mobile.Certain pieces of technology just never made it to mobile interfaces. To ensure that your site works well on mobile, you'll need to remove things like Flash, JavaScript and some custom code.
- Make sure your text is easy to read on mobile.Do mobile users have to zoom just to make your text legible? This can turn them off and send them to one of your competitors. You should also make sure that your websites colors are easy on the eyes on mobile screens.
- Make sure your site loads quickly enough.Nearly 3/4 of mobile users say that they've left a site that doesn't load quickly enough. Consider offering mobile users a simplified version of your site if you are having difficulty making it load fast enough.
The technologies that we use to connect online are always changing. To continue to thrive, your construction business needs to keep up with the best practices for marketing online. Keep aware of changes and make sure that your sites stay up to date so that you stay in your customers' minds.
Sources: http://www.seoblog.com/2015/04/easily-recover-googles-mobilegeddon/
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/
https://blog.kissmetrics.com/loading-time/
http://biztechnologysolutions.com/it/has-your-website-been-optimized-for-mobile-users/
Photo credit: gailjadehamilton / Chairs Hunter / CC BY-ND
About Ellen Morrison
After studying to become an Auror at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ellen decided to put her skills towards helping businesses grow through the Inbound Marketing Process. In her free time she loves to hike and explore the outdoors, while at the end of the day curling up with her cat, Champ, who is truly a champion.
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