What’s this Google Mobile-Friendly Algorithm?

I am on the bus, on my way to NYC, to attend Generate Conference. Super excited for this trip, and I am ready! I have my laptop, my phone, my addresses, US money (at the pathetic rate of 1.26, but I had no choice). There’s an elderly aunty with bad knees who seemed to need help with her bag. So I helped her over our little stops, along the way. This story is going somewhere. On our stop at the border, she tells me how she isn’t very savvy with technology and so she wrote her ticket number on a piece of paper. These days to get on the bus, the driver just needs the confirmation/ticket number. So what I did was just pull it up on my phone. She must’ve seen this because she refered to me as “young people” (which was very flattering), and how we are so well versed on our phones and computers, meanwhile little ol’her can’t even turn on a computer. Trust me, this IS going to lead to my point.I had to say to her, my phone is my everything. Besides talking to people, I text, listen to music, watch videos, read books, shop, and even use it as a remote and browse websites while doing all those other things.

This is terrible of me to admit, but my phone is almost attached to my hip (if my baby wasn’t). I am constantly browsing and reading and trying to stay abreast of the constant progress technology is making. Not an easy feat with a baby on your hip. Easy access to the internet, makes for more website visits! More conversions, if your site is done properly, with good UX design and content.

In comes Google with their mobile-friendly algorithm to be released April 21. It’s going to include mobile-friendly usability factors. Also, this algorithm will be higher than Google Panda, Google Penguin and Google Hummingbird. Google will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.

What’s this “Google Mobile-Friendly Algorithm”?

To ensure optimal experiences for users of mobile devices. Whether they look through images, read the info, or search for contact details, Google wants them to feel the same comfort as users of desktops. For that reason, the following things will be taken into account, to determine a website ranking on the SERP:

1. scalability of fonts to smaller displays (responsive typography);
2. easy use of buttons and other touch elements and their distance between each other;
3. re-direction of mobile users to mobile URLs, if a site has any of them;
4. possibility to crawl CSS & JavaScript;
5. relevant cross-links;
6. fast loading time and general performance.

That’s awesome, but what does that mean? What do you have to do?

Avoid “Mobile Friendly” Mistakes

1. Don’t block JavaScript, CSS and image files: the Googlebot needs easy access to your website files.
2. 404 Mobile Error: Don’t redirect the desktop version of the page to 404 error if it not available for mobile.
3. Media content: Keep media to be played on every device, which includes video and audio files that are not unplayable on smartphones, for example if they require Flash.
4. Mobile page speed: Page load is an important user experience factor and you have to optimize the loading process. You can use the Google’s Page Speedtest tool.
5. Avoid duplicate content: Don’t duplicate content on desktop and mobile versions. (That’s why Google recommends a responsive design solution) Don’t use different URLs and redirects between the desktop and mobile versions.
6. Don’t implement the mobile site on a different domain, subdomain, or subdirectory from the desktop site.

Taken straight from here

Responsiveness allows for automatic adaptation of a website interface to the screen of any device, from high-resolution desktops to smartphones with narrower viewports. This is why responsive web design is important, and Google recommends it for every website owner.

Check to see if your website is responsive and has Google’s blessing.

Today, everyone needs responsive web design to stay Google-friendly. If your website is responsive already, great. If not, consider making an investment in your company through development of a responsive website. With a web designer’s (like myself) help, you will be ready for Google update, and your site will achieve higher rankings on the search engine results page to drive more traffic.

Want to take the next step? Lets talk.