Google is taking mobile device users' Internet experience to the next level. Last Tuesday, Google announced a new mobile-friendly label that will display webpages best optimised for people searching for information using smartphones or tablets.
In the next few weeks, this new label will become available all over the world. With the integration of a 'mobile-friendly' label to Google's mobile search results, online businesses need to make sure that their webpages are designed correctly so that they can be recognised as a mobile-friendly site by Google's label.
Why You Should Have a Mobile Friendly Site
There are very good reasons why a site should be mobile-friendly. Today's generation like the option of browsing daily on the Internet wherever they go. So it only makes sense for businesses to have a site that can be easily browsed. Common frustrations that mobile users experience are tiny text and text links which can't be selected with a touch-screen. They also may see content elements overlapping on each other from a small screen. Un-clickable popups can also stop a website from being used on a small screen. A mobile friendly website eliminates a lot of the visual issues that the mobile user would experience with a non mobile-friendly site and thus improve conversion rates.
The Connection Between Mobile Devices + Social Media Networks
The strongest reason for working on the mobile version of a website is the average user's communication habits on one or more social networking websites via mobile devices. Naturally, if they see a link to a business, they will want to instantly view it on their mobile screens.
The Result of a Non Mobile-Friendly Site's in Google Search
According to the company's Webmaster Central Blog post, there are several things that will definitely raise red flags with Googlebot including:
- Webpages that include software that is not commonly used (i.e., Flash) with mobile devices.
- Text that has to be zoomed in order to be readable.
- Displayed content has to be scrolled horizontally to fit on the screen.
- Links are placed too close too each other which could cause the mobile user to tap the wrong one.
- Pages that take too long to load.
The worst thing to happen to an online business is to have webpages that take too long to load. When this happens, there is no logical reason for the mobile user to wait around for the site to pull up when they can find what they want elsewhere.
Conclusion
Since the objective of Google's mobile-friendly label is to display the best built webpages for seeing content from mobile devices, selecting a cheap mobile solution in order to save money will actually cost you more money long term; this is because Google search results are automatically ranked based on their relevance and their credibility.
Therefore, a site's entire architecture has to contain fundamental SEO components to avoid a negative result with search engine traffic. The end of Google's announcement post casually mentions that mobile-friendly design is being tested as a ranking signal. Webmasters that are not fluent in responsive design can cause a website to be rejected by Google mobile-friendly that can result in numerous missed conversions. The $1,000 or $2,000 you think you’re saving upfront by building a cheap mobile site can actually cost more down the line in lost revenue! Actually, mobile screens are a lot different from computer screens so mobile web design has to change accordingly. However, this process in the hands of an expert can be seamless and does not have to be time consuming.
Assuming the capabilities of different mobile solutions, how certain mobile platforms function and how features may perform is best determined by a webmaster company that is experienced in responsive web design. To avoid frustrations and thousands of wasted dollars, make sure to select a mobile webmaster that will build a site that is feasible for the present and for the future. They can pinpoint your must haves, identify solutions or any other functionalities or customisations you’d like to add and encompass all of these elements together.
If you're ready to get a mobile-friendly website to stay competitive on Google's search results, contact Quantum for a well-designed mobile website today!
