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Mobile-First and SEO with Google

How often do you pick up your phone and Google something? Whether it’s a random question, a local attraction or even directions? Chances are that you are in the majority of users who are doing this often.  Google recently shared that there are TRILLIONS of mobile Google searches every year and with this huge increase in mobile users they want marketers to shift their focus. Just this week, Google hosted their Performance Summit and streamed it live for marketers all around the world. While the seminar focused on Google Adwords and Analytics the main message was clear – Google is proceeding forward with a “mobile-first” attitude. This is important for paid search and advertising, but it is also impacts SEO. The spider bot is on the crawl Your website needs to be mobile-friendly. It is no longer viewed as a luxury, it is now a necessity. Google’s spider bot will be crawling all sites to see if they meet mobile-friendly standards. If your site meets the standards and your content is strong then your site will be able to rank organically in mobile search results. If your website is not mobile-friendly then the spider bot will deem it a poor user experience. In 2015 Google rolled out the “mobile-friendly” text next to results in organic search when a user was on their phone. However, the algorithm wasn’t very strict and Google has recently adjusted that. If your website is mobile-friendly then don’t worry. However, for those sites that aren’t…well it is time for you to make the upgrade. Mobile searches are increasing every day and if you don’t have a mobile site for your visitors to use, then Google won’t share your website. Is your site mobile-friendly? Just because your website was mobile-friendly 5 years ago does not mean it meets the current standards. Not sure if your website counts as mobile-friendly? Well, Google was nice enough to provide a free tool that will tell you. If you want to rank organically you have to meet Google’s mobile-friendly standards:
  • Avoid hosting unplayable videos that might require a flash plug-in
  • Provide a strong search experience for your mobile site; make sure your search bar and results function with ease
  • Give Google access to crawl your JavaScript, CSS and image files
  • Ensure mobile redirects are set up properly; just as you would do for a desktop website
  • Avoid pop-ups that can block content for viewers
  • Make font size big enough that it can be seen on a 5-inch screen
  • Leave space between touch elements
  • Set images to render and resize based on the screen size; you don’t want your content to be wider than the screen
What do you do if your site isn’t mobile-friendly? Don’t panic! If you don’t have a team of developers to help achieve a mobile-friendly site then wedü can help!
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