If your website isn’t yet mobile-responsive, it’s time to act.
As a business owner, we understand firsthand that staying on top of everything is a daily challenge. And the rapid speed of technology changes doesn’t help.
But of all of the business initiatives to choose from, your website isn’t one that should be deferred to tackle later. As the centerpiece of your online presence, it merits your attention as a top priority.
Customers first
The primary reason to optimize your website for mobile is to make it user-friendly for customers. A mobile-responsive website presents the information in a format that’s easy to use on smaller devices. With touch-based navigation, optimized page widths and mobile menus, a mobile-optimized site minimizes the need to pinch, zoom and scroll in order to navigate.
Search engines and mobile search results
Users notwithstanding, if your site is not configured for mobile, Google has some bad news for you. With mobile searches exceeding desktop queries, Google’s latest search algorithm tweak is a shift to mobile-first. That means that mobile results will appear higher in the search results pages than desktop ones. And a website that is not mobile-friendly will earn lower placements in search results.
A mobile-responsive website delivers mobile results, as does a separate mobile website. A website specifically designed to load pretty much instantly for mobile — known as an AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) site — will garner the best placement of all. If your website is none of the above, the time is now to prioritize optimization for mobile search.
Some mobile sites are more equal than others
Feeling pretty smug right about now, since you created that streamlined mobile website a couple of years ago? Hold off patting yourself on the back for a moment and let’s dig a bit deeper into this latest Google algorithm update.
Before mobile responsive websites rose in popularity, early adopters built independent mobile sites with limited content and functionality and a user experience designed for a smaller screen.
This most recent search algorithm update could spell a negative search result for a mobile website with sparse content. We’ve arrived at an era where mobile searchers expect full access and functionality across all their devices. To address this concern, Hubspot suggests enhancing the content on your mobile website.
How else can you optimize for search?
Since search algorithms are constantly changing, hedge your bets by covering all the SEO bases. Utilize page-specific metatags, add contextual alt tags to images and include sub-heads, keywords and links.
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