The tech giant inevitable mobile search change could spark mobilegeddon.

Word has it that it has begun… Google has change their search engine algorithm and it started today, right now. Google will be prioritising companies which are mobile-friendly and could trigger a mobilegeddon frantic. To put it in layman’s terms, if your searching on a smart phone or a tablet, websites which are mobile ready will be listed higher on searches and those which are not will go down in the pecking order. With a growing number of mobile users the search engine giant is gearing up to cover these grounds to ensure you get the best user experience and most relevant information.

This could be a big game changer for the many smaller business or another headache to play catch up. Why is it so important to get this move right? It is because getting your searches high offers free listing and these listing equates to advertisement which in turns generate traffic to your site. More visitors to your site means more possible business opportunities and growth. You could design the greatest website that looks like a masterpiece with excellent content and interaction but if no one can find it, people wouldn’t even know the site ever existed. For that reason this step to get it right and follow the trend is that super incredibly important.

According to Roi.com.au, it was noted 51.5 per cent of ASX 200-listed companies are not mobile ready. A whooping 51.5 per cent? Can that be right, it is very possible and if deem to be true that is a substantial figure. At the time of putting this article together, I couldn’t believe the like of Domino’s Pizza, Coca-Cola Amatil, BHP Billiton to name a few are not ready. Even with a 2 month heads up rollover notice from Google.

So if you have a simple website that isn’t adapt to the mobile scale for friendly use like changeable font size for read legibility, buttons and icons to sit easily on the screen for responsive navigation action then trouble could hit you. Sometimes looks can also be deceiving, a website that has a user friendly interface which tucks neatly onto the mobile display can still be considered as mobile unfriendly. Simply because a site could be a redirect, Sometime this can be seen with the m. followed by the domain name. In general is might mean there are two version, a desktop and mobile site which contains different content but isn’t always the case.

So how do we know if a site is mobile friendly. You can visit Google’s Development Mobile Friendly test page. Simply place the URL into the field and give it one to two minutes for Google to do the magical analysing. A test result will give you either a “Awesome! This page is mobile-friendly.” in green, from a sub conscious mind means read to go or alerting the fact that the site is “Not mobile-friendly” in red. If there is signs of symptoms it’s best to take action. Ready or not, the big companies have the might to throw money and resources to make the site proper but what if you’re a small to medium business? This could be a real messed up challenge in their hands. From the test results Google does have links which might be able to guide you to a fix. I did my own checking and thankfully this site Design Sync along with my other sites mobile friendly ready, so less headache for me. It could be a worry sign for those who scratching the surface of generating revenue while force to keep pace with the modern technology. And I don’t think it will ever unless something dramatic happens.

Google Mobile Friendly Test - Design Sync

With this new implementation from Google it would also be interesting to see the outcome further down the track. The side effect won’t happen overnight, so you still have time to get that friendliness sorted. Will it be truly a mobilegeddon if nothing is done? Only time will tell I guess. Starting from a blank canvas, it’ll be wise to adhere to the trend. The ever changing SEO process continues to set up a new wave of interesting challenges for the digital designers, developers and entrepreneurial. Those who plan a head, follow the trend, implement the future will lead the way.

Tips to make your site mobile friendly:

Use the KISS rule (Keep It Simple Stupid) to layout your page. Simple works best on small devices.

User experience is key, ensure the user can navigate your site in a responsive way without too much trouble on smaller screen. This could be the in the case of implementing collapsible buttons and reasonably sized icons.

Font size should be scaled for readability.

Optimise graphics for quick loading time, though it does not mean you need compress the image in a poor pixel quality state. It’s a fine balance between low file size and acceptable image quality.

Hop on to the Google Mobile Friendly Test page to analyse your site.

Related Links:

Google Mobile Friendly Test: ( https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly )

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