Google's push to emphasize mobile

[SenseiSteve]

What's your take on Google's 21 April update to its algorithms to emphasize mobile? How many of you do not have a mobile presence and either plan to put one in place or could care less? Are you Google Mobile Friendly?

 

[ByteChef]

I have4 Websites and most of them are using Twitter Bootstrap and so are Mobile Friendly.

But I have this other Site and Google is recommeding to go mobile freindly on that too. End of the day I think redesigning this Website is not worth the time and cost. So I am letting it as it is.

So I will be checking on how much of difference it is going to make. It will be my little experiment I guess.

 

[SenseiSteve]

Let us know how that goes.

 

[rfwilliams777]

I sometimes wonder about the hoo ha that keeps getting pushed by Google as if they have the right to force website developers to do things or change things. I know A LOT of websites that are far from mobile friendly and are still doing quite well in showing up in the search engines.

 

[SenseiSteve]

I sometimes wonder about the hoo ha that keeps getting pushed by Google as if they have the right to force website developers to do things or change things. I know A LOT of websites that are far from mobile friendly and are still doing quite well in showing up in the search engines.

I'd be curious to know if they continue to show up well in the near future. I do agree it seems like some sites do everything wrong and continue to rank well.

 

[LampNetworks]

I sometimes wonder about the hoo ha that keeps getting pushed by Google as if they have the right to force website developers to do things or change things.

:thumbup:

They're more interested in getting adwords displayed to the masses and the carrot is rankings. Rankings that 99.9% can't/wont achieve anyway. The stick may come later if developers, many of whom may not even target mobile users, do not conform to their will.

 

[SenseiSteve]

:thumbup:

They're more interested in getting adwords displayed to the masses and the carrot is rankings. Rankings that 99.9% can't/wont achieve anyway. The stick may come later if developers, many of whom may not even target mobile users, do not conform to their will.

First, it would be crazy for developers not to target mobile users, especially for small to medium sized businesses that rely on local traffic.

Realistically, how many of you, your clients or the world use Bing rather than Google to perform search queries? The bottom line for most companies on the Internet is either converting leads or making a sale. Given that Google dominates the market, any responsible CEO or business owner will use any tool at their disposal to increase sales, and that includes an optimized mobile presence.

 

[LampNetworks]

I'm quite sure we do not have any clients that were referred directly from Google search results (or any other search engine). It may indeed be worthwhile to target mobile users' if your target group is local, but that isn't always a concern for everybody. If people decide to use a responsive or adaptive design, the decisions they face should be made on what is beneficial to them, not Google. However, if a SEO company can guarantee page one in Google search results (or even page 2), then I'm all for doing whatever Google preach

 

[Rado_Ch]

I think the best approach to any such "innovation" (because this one really is not that new) is to turn more attention to facts than assumptions. Lets observe some about the Mobilegeddon:

- it will affect mobile searches but not desktop/tablet searches
- its not really a penalizing update, more like boosting the results for good performers
- it is a ranking factor but, just like I said about the HTTPS hype, just a fraction of more than 200 more ranking factors

Even with those I can safely tell you that no one is forcing you to go mobile. There are businesses that don't rely on mobile users and such that have a significant number of such users to begin with. Who can force them to optimize themselves for something that will not do them much good? Sure, competing sites that make the change might get a boost and surpass them in rankings but its their choice if they will react or not.

That being said I completely agree with the last post by @SenseiSteve - mobile browsing is not a thing of the future and it has already gained a good share of overall searches. So refusing to go mobile will just lead to lost opportunities and going behind the competition. User navigation should be one of the top priorities of any business so neglecting that will inevitably deter your ambitions.

 

[HostNesta]

We should understand Google is business entity and has its own interest to protect. It is just a curtsey gesture that Google does inform us on new technologies and upcoming trends within its set-up.

Most people spend their time today on mobile phones, tablets, smart phones and what have you. It is a large market which had been lying fallow, but today with lots of new encroaches.

@Rado_Ch

no one is forcing you to go mobile. There are businesses that don't rely on mobile users and such that have a significant number of such users to begin with. Who can force them to optimize themselves for something that will not do them much good? Sure, competing sites that make the change might get a boost and surpass them in rankings but its their choice if they will react or not.

So its up to you, if you want to be in good standing with Google or careless.

Of-course, it is you who depend on Google and not vice versa. The choice is yours.

 

[RDOServers]

The important thing to remember is, a website being mobile responsive is just one of the 200+ ranking factors Google uses!

All the "Mobile-getton" talk was WAY over dramatised!

 

[cwvps]

Sure I'm Google mobile friendly. I don't really see why wouldn't I be. It is only one of many ranking factors, but the purpose of it is very clear.

 

[AsiaHostOnline]

Most of the websites today, unless it was built before 2004 and never get updated are mostly Mobile Responsive now. So the update really need to happen so atleast other developers may now require to do responsive code aswell.