Member Article

Why we shouldn’t be surprised that Google has introduced mobile friendliness as a ranking factor

It was announced at the end of last month that Google has finally introduced mobile friendliness as a ranking factor, meaning websites will now be ranked according to their mobile compatibility. But, this change should not have come as a shock, the search engine giant had previously made it clear that they have been constantly working to ensure that mobile users receive the best service possible when accessing the search engine from their mobile. And it makes perfect sense for Google to introduce these new changes to their rankings. After all, Google wants to offer the best experience to users and if we are accessing Google from a mobile phone, why would it want to show a slow, poorly responsive website?

Google have always recognised the importance of websites being mobile friendly, unbeknown to many businesses. They have been constantly working to ensure that mobile users receive the best service when accessing Google from their mobiles. In their announcement, released on the 26th February, Google stated that the previous steps for improvement included:

• Ensuring the website is configured properly in order to be efficiently viewed on all modern devices.
• Making it easier for users to access web pages that worked efficiently on mobile devices.
• Introduced app indexing, a process where Google indexes apps just like it does websites, which takes users who have the app of the website they are trying to visit already installed on their phone directly to the app instead of the website.

Whilst these changes have been implemented for some time now, the new proposed changes could have a major impact on the way websites and users co-operate in the mobile online world. However, it was revealed in the statement that Google would be making two new changes to their rankings of search results, which would have a large impact on mobile website ranking. They stated that that they would now take into consideration:

• How friendly the website appears in search results, subsequently expanding their use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor.
• How relevant the app content is in search results.

Two key things that stood out for me about this announcement was that Google stated that as of April 21st, Google will be expanding its mobile friendliness as a ranking factor, which it states “will have a significant impact in our search results.” Therefore, businesses must ensure that the mobile version of their websites operate as effectively as possible, making relevant changes and alterations now to ensure that websites aren’t penalised and search rankings affected. This statement also confirms that Google are already using mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor, but are simply expanding their use of it, making it even more important for businesses to monitor.

So what should businesses do next? Well, in order to ensure that your business isn’t affected by this new announcement, the first and most important thing to do is to ensure that your mobile website works as effectively as possible. Search rankings play an imperative role in the success of any businesses online reach and so therefore your mobile website needs to be considered as a platform that is just as important at your website. But, unfortunately, these changes should not have come as a major shock because Google as a search engine only wants to show users the best and most efficient websites. Therefore, the main thing to take away from all of this is to ensure that everything you post online works efficiently, effectively and is as user friendly as possible. That way, you will never be caught out again.

What do you think? Did you expect these new changes to be introduced? Or were you unaware that mobile friendliness played a role in search rankings? As always I would love to hear what you have to think! So get in touch or leave a comment below.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jonny Ross .