Latest Details About Google’s Mobile-friendly Algorithm

As we’ve previously reported, Google’s mobile-friendly ranking algorithm will be launching on April 21st. It’s becoming evident from statements made by Google this is going to have a significant impact on mobile search results and many website owners are starting to get anxious. Last week Google advised it will have more of an impact than the Google Panda and Penguin updates did and these were game changers for many websites. Panda impacted about 12% of all English queries, whilst Penguin was around 4% of global queries across desktop and mobile.

We already know the algorithm will be applied on a real-time and page-by-page basis. Here’s some further information Google released last week.

1. A page is either mobile-friendly or not – there are no degrees of mobile-friendliness in this algorithm.
2. It will take up to a week for the algorithm to completely roll out on a global basis.

Why should you care?

Some are speculating that up to 40% of mobile search results will change. Whatever the number, it’s clear this is going to affect a lot of websites. If your website currently ranks well in Google but isn’t mobile friendly, then the chances are you’ll see a big drop in mobile search referrals from Google after 21 April.

How do you know if your site is mobile friendly?

The quickest way is to do a search on your mobile phone. If results for your site have the mobile-friendly label on them like below, then they’re considered mobile friendly by Google.

You can also use Google’s mobile-friendly testing tool to confirm this. To get a site-wide view and identify any pages that aren’t mobile friendly check the mobile usability reports in your Google Webmaster Tools account. If you decide you need a separate mobile website you may want to check out MobileMonkey who specialise in creating low cost mobile friendly websites for NZ businesses.

Other search marketing news this week:

• Google tests targeted TV ad service
• .nz Domains: D-Day for registrations and reservations
• Bing only showing one page of search results – maybe

The latest news about web marketing, SEO, PPC Advertising & Web Analytics. But only the stuff that matters from a New Zealand perspective. Click here to get this delivered to your inbox each Monday.

If you found this useful, please tell your friends.