What Google's Recent Changes Mean for Your Site

Some are calling it the SEO-pocalyse and Mobilegeddon. Others claim they won't be affected at all.

In case you haven't heard, Google recently made this announcement:

"Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results."

So what does this mean for you?

Mobile traffic makes up of at least 30% of total traffic, regardless of your industry. For some, it's can creep up into 50-60% of all search traffic. Google rarely shares how they are changing their algorithms, let alone when. They want to not only reward websites that are already mobile-friendly, but also encourage non-mobile sites to update to best web practices.

If your website is not mobile friendly, it could have a major impact on your mobile search rankings. So what can you do to create a mobile friendly website?

There are basically two options:

1. Create a Responsive Web Design - Responsive websites readjust their content to fit on any device. You don't have to zoom in to read and you don't have content extending beyond the device's screen. The best part of a responsive site design is that you have one website. It's flexible, easier to maintain, and Google's recommended configuration.
2. Create a Mobile Site - Mobiles sites are entirely different sites designed for just mobile devices. While it could be cheaper to design, it is essentially managing two sites. It really should be considered a bandaid fix, not only because it is a little outdated in terms of best practices, but also because it is not as flexible as responsive websites. It may work on devices today, but who knows what devices might be released in the following months or years.

We won't know for sure how bad the fallout will be after April 21st, but we do know this: Creating a responsive website is not only best practice, but also more usable for your visitors and will allow you to have a much more lasting, flexible asset for your business.

If having a mobile-friendly website is something you have considered in the past, it may be time to upgrade.

As always, we at Masonry love helping companies look and function the best they can. If you would love to chat about responsive options, feel free to contact us!

All the best,

Lauren