What do the websites for the British Monarchy, David Beckham, Nintendo©, Versace™, and the UK’s Daily Mail all have in common? They’re about to be “left behind” during “Mobilegeddon” which began Tuesday. Yes, the horns have blared, the stars are falling and the end is nigh as the four horsemen of page rankings charge forth.
What is “Mobilegeddon” you ask? Supreme being… I mean Google®, is updating its search algorithm. And many a doomsayer predicts this will wreak absolute havoc on the world as we know it. Everything from ad revenue to search results will be impacted.
As with anything like this, it’s hard to say absolutely what the final result will be. On the surface, Google’s ambition certainly seems benign. Their update aims to ensure sites are optimized for viewing on mobile devices (i.e., smartphones and tablets). So what’s the fuss? The “negative” part of this equation is that Google will begin penalizing sites which aren’t optimized. Some are estimating this could equate to 40 percent of top websites (1).
So “mobile-friendliness” will be part of Google’s overall ranking methodology for displaying search results on mobile devices. So therein lies the issue. Many fear that the cost/time of updating sites, in particular for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), means many will be unable to keep up and comply quickly. As a result, they’ll begin to appear less often on mobile search results pages (2).
Searching on mobile devices accounts for around 50 percent of inbound traffic to Google (3). A non-mobile-friendly business excluded from search results will potentially miss substantial click activity to ads/sites. That means fewer eyes on a company’s products and solutions, lost revenue and all manner of negative repercussions. And given that 68 percent of US Internet searches are performed via Google (4), it is flexing its muscles to ensure an optimal mobile experience as 89 percent smartphone uses worldwide are searching via their engine (2).
As for the British Monarchy, David Beckham, Nintendo, Versace, and the UK’s Daily Mail websites, according to one analysis, all of those are examples of sites that despite having apps or “mobile sites” aren’t considered “mobile-friendly.” They, of course, have the resources to get things updated and resolved quickly. But what about the SMBs out there that may not even know what this all means? To stay competitive, time and money will have to be invested to update sites to ensure compliance.
Mobile usage is only going to continue to grow and Google is interested in owning search and its related ad revenue. Staying on top of the way it serves up results is critical. Based on Google’s estimates, it’ll take about a week before everything kicks in fully (5). So by the end of April, early May, mobile search will be changed for everyone, and businesses large and small will be scrambling to adapt or measuring the hit their bottom line will take for non-compliance.
If you haven’t done something about your site, there’s no better time to correct the situation. Need help? HCD can provide strategic consulting and guidance on how best to optimize your website and email programs to ensure optimal mobile-friendliness.
Source:
1. ‘Mobilegeddon’ could be bad news for 40% of top websites http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/04/20/mobilegeddon-could-impact-your-business/26090627/
2. Google to websites: Be mobile-friendly or get buried in search http://mashable.com/2015/04/21/google-mobile-search-2/
3. Why Mobile Web Still Matters in 2015 http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2388915/why-mobile-web-still-matters-in-2015
4. Google Search Engine Market Share Nears 68% http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/study/2345837/google-search-engine-market-share-nears-68
5. 5 things to know about ‘Mobilegeddon’ http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/04/21/5-things-to-know-about-google-mobilegeddon/26123275/
