Back in April Google updated its algorithm to give mobile-friendly web sites preference in ranking for organic searches. This was given the melodramatic name “Mobilegeddon” due to the devastating impact on mobile search results it was widely feared to bring. However in the following weeks, as with Chicken Little, the sky didn’t fall after all.
Now more than two months later it appears that companies which didn’t opitimise their sites for mobile are in fact paying a price, according to Adobe Digital Index (ADI).
According to ADI, web sites that were not prepared for Google’s mobile friendly update lost up to 10% of organic traffic in Q2, as the above chart shows. (In case you’re wondering, Memorial Day was 25 May).
Making things worse, was a double whammy for companies that attempted to make up that loss in organic traffic using paid search ads. ADI found Google mobile CPC (cost per click) rose 16% year-over-year in Q2, while CTR (click through rates) fell by 9% in Q2. In other words, paid search advertising came at a higher cost for fewer clicks, meaning advertisers have to spend more just to stay even.
Why should you care?
The above illustrates compelling financial reasons for ensuring your website is mobile friendly. If it’s not you’re likely to see your share of organic mobile traffic progressively drop and the cost of replacing this with paid search traffic is increasing.
If you haven’t done it already you really should make your website mobile friendly as a matter of priority. And as we’ve previously pointed out, the most compelling reason for doing this is not Google, but your users.
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Jeremy and Mark are two of the partners behind SureFire Search. Despite their deceptively youthful appearances, both have worked in search marketing for many years. To put that in context, Google didn't even exist when Jeremy started.
