“Mobilegeddon” hit 40% of all websites (hard) on April 21.
Google just announced that starting April 21 it will reward mobile-friendly websites and punish those that aren't.
People are calling this algorithm update “Mobilegeddon” because it will mean potentially big drops in organic (free) traffic for some businesses.
Why is Google doing this? What does this mean to you?
As cited in the Wall St Journal, a Google spokesperson explained, “As people increasingly search on their mobile devices, we want to make sure they can find content that’s not only relevant and timely, but also easy to read and interact with on smaller mobile screens.” (source: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/04/20/websites-prep-for-googles-mobilegeddon/)
In other words, it's your job to give ALL web visitors a good experience, and these days, close to 50% of these visits come from mobile devices.
*Right now, you're probably getting referrals from Google Search because your website shows up in the search results for certain keywords. (If you're not getting Google traffic, that's a separate problem.) And Google traffic means new patients, assuming you have a decent website. The more traffic, the more patients.
The question is: will you keep getting Google traffic after April 21?
Find out if you're prepared for “Mobilegeddon”
Step 1
Use the Google Mobile-friendly test:
If you passed that test, you're good. You'll probably get even more Google traffic now.
But… if you failed, you need to act, fast, by going to Step 2…
Step 2
You have 3 options for avoiding the Mobilegeddon penalty:
Option 1 – Mobile-Only Version
Easiest – only works for smartphone visitors
Get a mobile-only version of your current website. This is basically a simplified version of your website designed to give mobile visitors easy access to what they need most: directions to the office, your phone number, and easy navigation to simplified versions of your main pages.
Option 2 – Multi-Device Compatible
Slightly more expensive but better – works for tablet and smartphone visitors
Convert your current website to a “responsive” framework. In other words, make your current website display differently depending on the device being used to view it.
This, by the way, is what we just did with FreedomFounders.com (see Resources below).
Option 3 – Multi-Device Compatible & Optimized
Most expensive but best – works for tablet and smartphone visitors – optimized for new patient attraction
Redesign your website and develop it in a responsive framework. Maybe this is a wake-up call for you if your website isn't converting visitors to new patients like it could.
Whatever you do, do something!
There's also a Google guide here that provides lots of detail and makes suggestions:
Google: Helping users find mobile-friendly pages
Good luck!
