We all know that smartphones are on the rise. More and more people are searching online with their phones and tablets. But how important is it to make sure your website is mobile-friendly?
It is actually VERY important to make sure your website has been optimized for mobile devices. Consider these 2 facts:
1. According to www.pewinternet.org, the most recent research says that 34% of cell phone users go online mostly with their cell phones, as opposed to using other devices like a desktop or laptop computer.
2. Google, the biggest player by far of the search engines, has said that they reward websites that have a mobile-friendly website when it comes to search engine ranking. In other words, if you don’t have a mobile-friendly website, you will not be as high on the search engine rankings as you could.
It’s easy to explain #1. We all know that people are relying more and more on smartphones and tablets.
But most people don’t know about #2, Google rewarding mobile-friendly websites. It is very important to keep Google has happy as possible regarding your search engine optimization. That’s what we will focus on here.
How do I know if my website is “mobile-friendly”, according to Google?
Fortunately, Google has made it very easy to tell if your website has passed the test. They provide a free tool to check – www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly.
Just copy/paste or type your web address into the box, and Google will let you know if your website is mobile-friendly. They check if the text is too small, links too close together, and if the mobile viewport is set.
What if my website fails the test?
The good news is that it is fairly inexpensive to make a website mobile-friendly enough to pass Google’s test, and get the SEO benefit. At Fresh Look we employ two different strategies, we will either create a mobile-only version of a website that is optimized, or we will create a different template for the website that smartphone users are directed to. Both ways are inexpensive, but effective in making your website user friendly as well as more optimized for the search engines.
The bottom line is that both human users and the search engines want to see a optimized mobile website. Check your phone to make sure that your website is easy to use, and check it at Google’s mobile test link – www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly.
Let us know if you need any help creating a mobile friendly website at info@freshlookwebdesign.com or call us at 757-778-8973.
