The Mobile Website Revolution Is Happening... Have YOU Evolved Yet?
"Mobilegeddon"... it was the catch-phrase and tech buzzword of the year and was designed to scare small & medium sized businesses towards change (we even discussed it ourselves HERE).
Need a refresher? In a nutshell: Google changed their super-search algorithm to drive mobile-friendly websites to the top of search results (and likewise lower results for non-mobile friendly sites).
The odd thing about the Mobilegeddon scare... not many listened. After spending the past week trolling websites across the Central Coast, and questioning business owner friends, I've come to realize that a very (VERY) small percentage of businesses actually took the leap to making their website mobile friendly. The buzzword of the year fell on deaf ears! Now for the scary part... it's real, and you need to pay attention!
In the past 4 months since Google changed their super-algorithm a shift has already been seen. A study by Stone Temple Consulting that looked at over 15,000 search queries concluded that 30.1% of mobile friendly sites gained rank in search results and almost 50% of non-mobile friendly sites lost rank.
Adobe also tracked webpage performance from organic search visits for 5,000 sites before and after Google’s Mobilegeddon. They found that every week since the launch, non-mobile sites have experienced a negative impact in reduced organic traffic, peaking at an over 10% reduction in traffic over Memorial Day. The impact of Google’s algorithm change has indisputably changed the mobile search landscape... and those of us living in a heavily trafficked tourist destination will almost definitely feel this impact more than others (just take a look at how many visitors have their phones out while walking down the street, or sitting in a cafe?).
If you haven't made the change to a mobile friendly site yet (or at least shopped around for pricing), please do it now! Who know's how their next algorithm shift or improvement might further the demise of non-mobile sites!
-
Hi, I'm Travis Ford, owner of Rock Harbor Marketing, a Digital Marketing Agency on California's Central Coast. I welcome opinions, helpful critiques and comments of admiration. Leave me a comment here, Follow us on Facebook, or tweet me and we can chat further. As always... I like to end each post with the harmonica part from Billy Joel's the Piano Man.