In the past Google announced that it was changing the way its search algorithms rank websites. Now, sites which are mobile-friendly – which resize and adapt to fit any screen – are ranked higher on the mobile-web than sites which aren’t. A website which isn’t optimised is essentially penalised and pushed down the search results.
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The changes are consequential to any business with a website. When they announced it, Google emphasised the significant impact it would have. The point of doing it, is to improve the user experience and allow the Google user to get the best results possible. Using a non-optimised site on a mobile is frustrating at best and often impossible.
The statistics:
Over 88 percent of all internet searches are currently carried out on Google (as opposed to an alternative search engine).
Between 50 and 70 percent of all Google searches are carried out on mobile devices.
There are over 3 billion internet users in the world.
Over a billion smartphones were sold in 2014 alone.
People use their phones to search for everything from their food shopping and toiletries right through to high ticket items such as dreams holidays and the kind of house extensions that can be found from a Conservatories Gloucester company such as https://www.firmfix.co.uk/conservatories/ The possibilities are endless!
In the past, a website needed a separate mobile version, but it has become more popular in recent years to combine the two and have a single ‘mobile-responsive’ website. More cost effective for the business, simpler for the developer and more user-friendly, the majority of new websites are now created in this way.
How to get a mobile-optimised site:
Google provides a free test to see whether a website is mobile-optimised and includes useful information if it isn’t.
However, many businesses haven’t had time to adjust their sites to the new rules. For older sites it either means a complete redesign, or creating a separate site just for mobile use. Not only affecting those who offer web design but design companies throughout the world, both designers and business owners are having to make significant adjustments.
With use of smartphones and tablets increasing sharply, the mobile-web is only going to get more popular. It’s even possible that websites could be designed initially to be used on these devices with desktops an afterthought. But for now, the importance of having a website which people can at least access on a mobile, cannot be underestimated.
