Several months ago, Google launched a test of its impending Mobile First Algorithm update and the week-long experiment sent search indexes into a tailspin. Overnight websites that ranked on page 1 of Google Search were relegated to page 2 or 3 (or worse), and traffic to their websites plummeted.
What happened? Google was giving us a taste of things to come and some businesses weren’t exactly ready for the party.
Google often does these beta algorithm update tests to ensure the algorithm fixes are screening out sites the way they are meant to and to see just how the landscape changes once the launch occurs.
The benefit to businesses is that we get to see where the holes in our SEO strategies are and fill them before Google pulls the trigger. Any losses in traffic and positioning experienced during the test is worth the intel it offers good SEO managers in the long run. But businesses that aren’t keeping their ears to the ground on Google algorithm updates (which typically occur more than 100 times each year), are left out in the cold floundering in the rankings.
What’s on the horizon for the final Mobile First Update? Well, Google’s recent test tells us a lot about what Google’s new web crawlers are looking for in their search for authoritative websites:
Mobile First means mobile-search matters more than desktop search simply because today more and more people are doing search on mobile devices. (For that very reason back in early 2017, Google announced that the search index would be split into two different vehicles: mobile and desktop.) Since more search is conducted there, Google places a bigger priority on ensuring the accuracy of mobile search and desktop search takes a back seat. Therefore, getting your site up to speed on mobile optimization has become a major priority for businesses online.
Mobile-Friendly versus Mobile Responsive
It’s important to understand that mobile-friendliness is no longer the buzzword on the tips of business owners’ tongues. Mobile responsiveness is now the new goal. Mobile-friendly sites were the world’s first response to mobile search when smart phones were first introduced. They offered simple, stripped down versions of desktop sites, which made search easier on mobile devices. They offered fewer photos, less content to wade through, easy to click links spaced appropriately for giant adult-sized fingers to navigate and simplicity all around.
But today, optimized mobile sites aren’t as archaic as all that. Today, Google looks for sites that are responsive to the device on which people browse. What that means is that your website detects the kind of device in use (be it a tablet, mobile phone or computer) and provides a view of its content that suits that device without stripping down the value of the content the site provides. And there are clear strategies for providing the same content in a way that makes it easily digestible when viewed on mobile devices. Responsive sites take that into consideration and bake these factors into the design.
Content is Still King
Mobile responsive sites offer just as much content as the desktop versions (or at least they should). Ranking highly in a Mobile-First environment will simply mean that websites have to bring their A-games to their mobile versions just as they did before with desktop. And that means content should be the priority. Useful, well-written content that offers meaningful information and answer to your given audience has always been the gold standard of SEO assets for websites. And from the looks of Google’s recent Mobile-First test, that’s not going anywhere any time soon.
The Need for Speed
Site performance matters all the more in a mobile environment than it ever did on desktop. Studies show people have even less patience for sluggish and/or ill-performing websites on their mobile devices than they did on desktop computers. In a Mobile-First era of search marketing, ensuring your website is running on all cylinders is as important as it has ever been.
Don’t Forget the Basics
With all the new bells and whistles to look to in Mobile-First SEO, it’s still important to remember that the basics of SEO still matter. Ensure your meta data is fully optimized and that your linking strategies are well in order before attending to all of the glitzy aspects of a mobile-responsive design and your websites will handle Google’s switch to Mobile-First with ease.
If you have questions about how to prepare your business website for Google’s impending Mobile-First launch, call the skilled consultants of Proctor Digital at 312.600.5155. We love helping small business owners trounce the competition and grown their brands online.
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