Recently, Google began rolling out its mobile-friendly ranking algorithm across its global data centers and by the time you read this post, the roll out should be complete. The new ranking algorithm is designed to favor mobile-friendly pages in Google’s mobile search results and demote sites in search results that are not mobile-friendly.
According to Google, either your website is mobile-friendly or it’s not – there’s no in between. This change is so significant that marketing research firm Portent found that 40 percent of the leading websites failed Google’s mobile-friendly test and could be down-ranked in search.
In a similar, but relatively under-the-radar move, Bing, which also provides search results for Yahoo!, has added a “mobile friendly” label to pages listed in their mobile search results that are mobile-friendly. As of this writing, the search engine’s plans for announcing a mobile-friendly algorithm have not been announced.
So what do Google’s mobile updates mean for PR? In our increasingly mobile-dependent world, just about everyone is using a smartphone to gather information and conduct business – that includes journalists and other influencers. If your website and press resource center are not mobile-friendly it’s possible that reporters, bloggers or industry analysts may have a harder time finding information on your company, such as contact information, press releases, fact sheets, etc.
However, are the implications of Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm and the predicted “Mobilegeddon” living up to the hype? Early analysis by SEO expert Dr. Dave Chaffey found that so far, the changes have not yet shown a big impact on rankings. In a statement, Google further clarified that while the mobile-friendly change is important, a variety of other signals, such as high-quality content, are still used to rank search results.
The bottom line: ensuring that your website and press resource center continue to have fresh, high-quality content should remain a top priority.
If you’re unsure whether your website meets Google’s mobile friendliness criteria, check out the company’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool where you can enter your website URL and receive a report confirming if the page has a mobile-friendly design.
Google’s Developer site has some great tips for making your website more mobile friendly and for implementing best mobile SEO practices.
Recently, Google began rolling out its mobile-friendly ranking algorithm across its global data centers and by the time you read this post, the roll out should be complete. The new ranking algorithm is designed to favor mobile-friendly pages in Google’s mobile search results and demote sites in search results that are not mobile-friendly.
According to Google, either your website is mobile-friendly or it’s not – there’s no in between. This change is so significant that marketing research firm Portent found that 40 percent of the leading websites failed Google’s mobile-friendly test and could be down-ranked in search.
In a similar, but relatively under-the-radar move, Bing, which also provides search results for Yahoo!, has added a “mobile friendly” label to pages listed in their mobile search results that are mobile-friendly. As of this writing, the search engine’s plans for announcing a mobile-friendly algorithm have not been announced.
So what do Google’s mobile updates mean for PR? In our increasingly mobile-dependent world, just about everyone is using a smartphone to gather information and conduct business – that includes journalists and other influencers. If your website and press resource center are not mobile-friendly it’s possible that reporters, bloggers or industry analysts may have a harder time finding information on your company, such as contact information, press releases, fact sheets, etc.
However, are the implications of Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm and the predicted “Mobilegeddon” living up to the hype? Early analysis by SEO expert Dr. Dave Chaffey found that so far, the changes have not yet shown a big impact on rankings. In a statement, Google further clarified that while the mobile-friendly change is important, a variety of other signals, such as high-quality content, are still used to rank search results.
The bottom line: ensuring that your website and press resource center continue to have fresh, high-quality content should remain a top priority.
If you’re unsure whether your website meets Google’s mobile friendliness criteria, check out the company’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool where you can enter your website URL and receive a report confirming if the page has a mobile-friendly design.
Google’s Developer site has some great tips for making your website more mobile friendly and for implementing best mobile SEO practices.
For more of our insights into Google’s algorithm updates, check out this post: Google’s Panda 4.0 and the Implications for PR Pros.