The Latest Impact Results of Google's Mobile Friendly Update
Mobilegeddon was rolled out over a month ago, with many experts saying that it could impact as many as 40% of the world’s biggest websites. It may have taken a little while for the update to be fully completed, but we’re now seeing the after effects. So, was it really mobilegeddon or something a little less daunting? We take a look at the latest impact results of Google’s mobile friendly update.
Predictions
According to TechCrunch, over 40% of Fortune 500 websites were going to see negative impacts thanks to the Google update. They ran tests on many of the top companies’ websites, to see whether they had made the necessary changes. Changes that would deem them mobile-friendly. It seems as though many hadn’t. SEO giants, Moz, also believed that there was going to be some serious backlash for some of the biggest websites on the internet. They ran several through Google’s mobile-friendly checker, to see what the results looked like. On April 21st, the day of the update, many people were worried that there were going to be some groundbreaking changes. These changes could have knocked websites down the rankings and put small companies out of business. Those were the predictions, and so mobilegeddon it was named.
Reality
The reality of the situation is, very few websites saw a negative impact when the changes came into play. SEO experts stood their ground that this was because the update was taking so long to roll out. However, here we are over a month down the line and there’s been very little movement. Desktop search has barely changed at all. Although Google did say that the new update would only really impact mobile searches. Businesses who were at the top seemed to have stayed at the top, with very little movement. Some small websites may have seen a drop in search traffic coming from mobile devices. Especially those who were not ready for the mobile-friendly update. However, it was nowhere near as drastic as everyone made it out to be.
What’s Next?
As Google continue to refine their mobile-friendly results, chances are there will be some more changes further down the line. It’s therefore imperative that you focus on making your website easy to use on mobiles. Web design companies such as http://www.nothingbutweb.com.au/ create websites that are instinctive. Your site should work on a plethora of different devices. This will be key as Google continues to push forward their mobile-friendly ideals. There has also been a strong focus on local search results and strong social signals. Especially as they continue to optimise Google Maps and Google Plus. Ensuring your website is optimised for your local area will tick some boxes. Engaging on social media will tick the others.
It seems as though mobilegeddon wasn’t as scary as we all thought it would be. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider the mobile-friendliness of your current website. Use this relatively quiet period to get your site up to scratch. Focus on responsive design and easy-to-use navigation. That way it won’t seem so daunting when Google bring out their next update. An update which will inevitably focus on mobile search results once again.
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