Google search shake-up could leave firms in the lurch – Bottom Line
GOOGLE is about to embark on a major algorithm change which could leave businesses who have yet to adapt to mobile see their customer base shrink overnight.
Billed as “mobilegeddon” in some quarters, the search engine will tomorrow start to roll out what is expected to be the biggest change to its search results in years, with a focus on only showing websites it considers mobile friendly.
Whenever Google changes things, it is inevitable there will be some big losers in the business world – especially when the notoriously vague company itself says this update will have a “significant impact”.
In a recent adjustment of this type, the “Panda 4.0” update of May 2014, yellowpages.com was estimated to have lost 20 per cent of its visibility in search.
And judging by the results of the tool Google circulated for websites to check their status ahead of the change, there are a number of big names who could be set to lose out.
Among the sites deemed not mobile friendly are Next and Ryanair, both of which are said to have links too close together and content wider than a normal mobile screen, while the MailOnline homepage and BBC’s archive stories also missed the mark.
These sites will only see a drop in search visibility for those on smartphones, and not desktops or tablets, but Google estimates that about 50 per cent of its searches are now conducted from mobile devices.
Given that many firms, particularly in retail and e-commerce, rely on search traffic to drive up sales and keep their bottom line looking healthy, those who haven’t addressed how their sites appear on mobile need to act urgently.
Making a site automatically change layout depending on what device is being used to view it – responsive design – is the best way to ensure it is mobile friendly, while working to keep load times as low as possible will give the site the best chance of performing well.
Businesses with in-house development teams should make this a priority now as Google says the penalty for not being mobile-friendly goes away once the site’s issues have been addressed.
Smaller operations, on the other hand, should look for a suitable digital agency who can do the job for them.
Martin Ashplant is Digital and Social Media Director at Morning Wire