Mobilegeddon
Caid Christiansen•What You Need to Know About Mobilegeddon, Google’s Latest Algorithm Update
The end is near. Or at least, that’s what you might think if you’ve been keeping an eye on tech news over the last few weeks.
Google announced its newest mobile-friendly algorithm update a few weeks ago to give site developers plenty of time to prepare, but that didn’t stop publishers from giving the update a name you’ve probable heard by now: “Mobilegeddon.”
Despite all the hype, this new update probably isn’t as bad as you’ve been led to believe.
The Basics
Here’s what we know: last Tuesday, April 21st, Google launched an algorithm to favor mobile-friendly sites. In a Google+ Hangout, Google noted a few key things:
1. Sites are either mobile-friendly or non-mobile-friendly. There’s no in between or “degrees” of mobile-friendliness.
2. You can check whether or not you’re mobile-friendly by looking for the mobile-friendly tag in search results with your site, or by using Google’s handy test tool.
Google also noted that this update:
• Affects only search rankings on mobile devices
• Affects search results in all languages globally
• Applies to individual pages, not entire websites
While the update was always expected to have a large impact, Google was quick to note that mobile-friendliness is hardly the only factor for determining search results. Mobile-friendliness is important, but it’s not the only factor in placing your page for a given search term.
The Impact of Mobilegeddon
Mobilegeddon’s impact has been significant, but not apocalyptic.
SEO giant Moz.com has been tracking the impact of Google’s update since it went live last week. They found that the percentage of results on page one that are mobile-friendly is increasing. Results for others are similar, with slight bumps being reported across the board.
The big takeaway? The change isn’t as dramatic as many estimated it would be. The update didn’t just happen with the flip of a switch. It was designed to be gradual, rolled out over time, and its impact on search results is being tracked accordingly.
Find Out If Your Site Is Mobile-Friendly
If all of this has you worried that your site is going to sink in the search results, don’t worry: it’s easy to find out whether or not your website is mobile-friendly.
The easiest way for you to find out is to head on over to Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Page. Enter your URL, click “analyze,” and within a few seconds, Google will pop out a result that tells you whether or not your site—or a page on your site—is mobile-friendly. There’s no in-between. Remember, your site is either mobile-friendly or it isn’t.
Potential error messages include:
• Text too small to read
• Mobile viewport not set
• Links too close together
• Content wider than screen
Any combination of these reasons could prevent your site from being mobile-friendly.
Call for Reinforcements
If your site is mobile friendly, ignore mobilegeddon and carry on—you’re all good.
If your site isn’t mobile friendly, it’s not quite the end of the world. Moz.com and others have reported that Google notices quickly when a page is updated to be mobile-friendly, which means that you can get back in the game as soon as you fix your site. While it’s not ideal to have a non-mobile-friendly site, you’re not totally out of luck if you’re not yet mobile-ized.
If your site isn’t mobile friendly or if you have a question about how Google’s latest update will affect your SEO results, don’t be afraid to call for reinforcements. Contact us via our website below, or get in touch on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. We’d be happy to help you make your site mobile-friendly to fight off mobilegeddon.
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