Last week, Google announced changes in its search engine algorithm aimed towards favoring mobile friendly sites in search results. The change, being called as ‘Mobilegeddon’, will rank mobile optimized websites higher on Google search results, thus affecting the visibility of non-mobile optimized sites on the search engine’s mobile version. This move is being seen as part of Google’s larger efforts to focus on user experience for all kinds of users – desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Market research firm Portent states that nearly 48% of all search traffic is generated from mobile devices hence, this announcement from Google will definitely help consumers. That may not be the case for businesses though, given that more than two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies’ websites are not prepared for this change and face the risk of not just being down-ranked in mobile search but losing up to one-third of their traffic. Undoubtedly, responsive design, mobile content optimization and mobile SEO tactics are the needs of the hour for any business aiming to create a mobile friendly web experience.
In an earlier post titled ‘Why Retailers Need a Mobile Website?’ we discussed how those retailers choosing mobile applications over mobile friendly websites may be losing out on the search traffic and the significance of a user friendly mobile website for a rich mobile experience. A recent research from Barclay’s, suggests that 42% of all retail sales in the UK market will involve a mobile device in some way or the other. And more often than not, a visit to the retailer’s mobile site or researching for products on the mobile browser search is the very first step in the buying journey for shoppers. On the other hand, sales made via retailers’ mobile applications now account for 33% of all spending, a significant figure that cannot be ignored. It is important for retailers to realize that there are times when both – mobile app and mobile website – work in tandem, while at times one may take precedence over the other based on interest groups and target markets.
Mobile search is a rapidly growing focal point across both emerging and developed markets and cannot be overlooked due to the ocean of opportunities it creates for mobile commerce. Like any change, Google’s mobile algorithmic changes are being anxiously observed. Of course, a mobile optimized and user friendly site can go a long way in creating a rich mobile experience and better customer engagement.
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