Today April 21st Google will update its search algorithm to prioritise
mobile friendly sites in all mobile searches. Keynote, a specialist in digital business optimisation, understands the
importance of mobile, not least because its own site (key has seen mobile
traffic rise 160 per cent in the last six months. What’s more, considering
smartphones and tablets now account for 60 per cent of all online traffic, and 80 per cent of all internet users own a smartphone, Keynote says that this latest announcement is a game changer, making
the mobile experience too important to ignore:
“Google’s search algorithm update
to promote mobile friendly sites could be a wakeup call for those who are yet
to invest enough in mobile,” said Monique Engelaar, director of marketing EMEA
at Keynote. “If a site doesn’t display well on a mobile device, it will now end
up at the bottom of the Google search pile which, considering the amount of
mobile internet traffic already in existence could spell disaster for those
not prepared. Companies need to prepare for this change in two ways –
firstly, creating a mobile-optimised site and, secondly, ensuring it performs
well.
“Many organisations rely on
just shrinking their existing desktop website to cater to the mobile market,
without considering the repercussions. A desktop site will have a number
of features and functionalities that, once scaled-down, will make them almost
impossible to use and could cause the site to slow, or worse, crash
entirely.
“While
designing a site specifically for mobile is crucial, monitoring and testing the
performance of a site is an absolute must. By doing this, companies will
be able to understand exactly what their customers are experiencing, regardless
of their network, handset, device or location. As such, any content
impacting user experience can be swiftly removed. The main thing to
remember is that preparation is key. By ensuring a site caters to those
users on mobile devices, without becoming slow or crashing, you may make
Google’s changes work for, rather than against you,” concluded Engelaar.
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