On April 21st, we saw perhaps the largest update yet to Google’s Search Algorithm: Mobile-Friendliness is now being considered when Google returns search results on mobile devices. Has Google’s recent algorithm change made a real impact on business owners and their websites? 4 months later, here are some of the results of this large algorithm change.
The Impact of Google’s Recent Algorithm Change
Before diving into logic steeped in data, consider how you consume content in your day-to-day life. Do you read articles between meetings, during your commute, while absentmindedly walking around? It’s no surprise that a lot of these activities happen on a mobile device of some type. Data shows that desktop content consumption is going down and mobile content consumption is taking it’s place. As such, search has been affected and Google’s recent algorithm change is an attempt to make sense of these behaviors.
So how does this impact your website?
Let’s start with the bad news.
In a recent study undertaken by Adobe, it was found that organic traffic was down up to 10% among websites with low mobile engagement. Regardless of the volume of traffic to your website, 10% is not a number to scoff at. This problem has snowballed due to marketers driving up costs for pay-per-click advertising, which in turn has lead to higher costs overall for un-optimized websites. And while the costs are higher, the return is lower – not as many people are clicking through or completing conversions as before Google’s “Mobilegeddon.” Adobe is reporting that Google is “losing ground as a marketing vehicle,” but their report draws quick conclusions for a bigger problem. Obviously, if every website had taken charge of being mobile-friendly before Google reflected a need for it in how it populates search results, websites would not have been affected.
The good news?
Google’s recent algorithm change rewards websites that have adjusted to the masses consuming content on their mobile devices. If your website already has a responsive design, you may not have to make many or any changes to take advantage of the way search works now. If not, it’s definitely time to consider a change. And it’s not too late to make a change! But don’t wait – any website changes take time, often months, for a search engine to recognize. Don’t let too much time lapse or the problem will compound.
So what are your options?
You could ignore the changes and dig yourself into a whole with less traffic, higher pay-per-click-prices, and a lower return on paid advertising. Obviously, that’s not ideal and will cost your business a lot in the long run. Or, you could make your website mobile-friendly. You can opt to retrofit your website with responsive design, or redesign with a version that is mobile-friendly from the get-go. To see how your website appears on a smartphone, check out our smartphone simulator.
Our Minneapolis website development company can help you to determine what makes the most sense for your business and website. Contact us for more information regarding responsive design or a responsive retrofit.
