April 23, 2015

Mobilegeddon’s Importance for Marketing Campaigns

On April 21st Google launched an algorithm change that affects all sites that are not mobile friendly, which has been deemed by many as “Mobilegeddon”. Please remember being mobile doesn’t just mean phones, but all types of tablets are included in this change as well. Since affiliate marketing and online marketing in general is essential for generating leads, if you aren’t up to date on which algorithm changes are pertinent to your site you could suffer a huge loss on your Google search positioning.

Why This Algorithm is Important

Google created a “mobile friendly test” that allows users to enter a site URL and check how mobile friendly that site is. On the whole, if your site doesn’t pass the Google test then the Googlebots will see your site as a less reliable source. However, Google did state that if your site is the most relevant option for users that it will still show even if it is not mobile friendly. Sites that are more suitable for all web-linked devices will definitely get a boost in their rankings.

This tool actually gives a breakdown of all issues that occurred from trying to load that site via mobile. Below we have included a screenshot showing exactly what you will see. The tool shows exactly how Google sees your page and if your site is not mobile friendly it will include a link explaining how to convert your site. It also shows each issue with your site specifically such as small text, page is too wide for mobile, and links are too close together – thus not very clickable, as shown below.

HTMMobileFriendly

 

NotMobileFriendly

Benefits of Mobile

Obviously, anyone could explain that social media traffic has greatly increased in the last 5 years alone, which means mobile marketing is importance. It isn’t only effective for the younger populous. Approximately half of the 65+ generation is using social media. This means that having a mobile website isn’t just about gaining the attention of young folks, but also older generations. Your web presence doesn’t have to be “hip” and flashy to be effective, it just needs to be simple and concise for everyone. In fact, an article from Pew Internet & American Life Project says that while young generations are moving away from blogging, more and more senior generations are moving towards blogging. This study also showed that most young adults are moving to “micro-blogging” which mainly consists of much shorter status updates instead of content rich blogging.

For Your Marketing

Google’s updates are oftentimes reflective of society. Mobile is important. Users have shown it is important and Google has solidified it. Google algorithm updates are updated to benefit search engine users and can be used as potential sign posts for what users want and how businesses can adapt to these needs. For example, mobile has been emphasized in the most recent update. If you have little to no mobile marketing, now might be the time to adopt a pay per call campaign, MMS (multi-media message service), mobile games and banner ads, or QR bar codes. The Google algorithm is constantly changing to adapt to user needs. Besides rankings and SEO, Google algorithm updates (like “Mobilegeddon”) can have impacts on your business, both positive and negative.