Question: What is Mobilegeddon?

Answer: Google’s recent April 2015 update to rank mobile-friendly sites higher in mobile searches with the launch of their new search algorithm.

Question: What’s behind the name?

Answer: It’s called Mobilegeddon because many feared the impact could mean doomsday for some companies.

Now that Google’s Mobile Friendly Update has now “fully rolled out” some say the worst of the mobile friendly update is over and others disagree and think:  Nope, this is only the beginning. But either way, one thing remains clear – there’s no going back from here. It’s highly unlikely Google will abandon their mobile-friendly algorithm and it will only get worse for websites not optimized for multiple screens. At Grafique, we’re in the “It’s Really Just Beginning” mindset and here’s why:

The majority has shifted. It’s officially true that there are more smartphone searches than desktop searches in the U.S. according to comScore’s latest report.

What does that mean? As long as searchers continue to use their smartphones to search (and there’s no reason to expect that number to ever decrease), Google will continue to give their majority vote the best experience ever. We believe Google will continue to fine-tune, adjust and modify their mobile-friendly algorithm adding new ranking factors and taking away others to adapt to the growing demands of their mobile searchers.

What should you do now? While many website owners who didn’t move forward with a responsive site may have breathed a big sigh of relief thinking it was all just hype, it doesn’t mean you’re safe to continue operating without a mobile-friendly website. Having a website that’s easy-to-read and navigate on a smartphone or tablet is critical in today’s market. Even if you’re not concerned with Google’s new algorithm, you need to be concerned with market trends and how potential customers are searching for products and services today. As customers continue to search for products and services on their mobile devices, you’ll begin noticing numbers (especially for new customers) begin to drop as they go to competitor’s sites which are mobile friendly.

How did you fare with Google’s latest Mobilegeddon update? Did you notice a drastic drop in any of the following categories? If you have, chances are your website doesn’t meet Google’s criteria for a positive user experience on a mobile device:

  • Organic search visits
  • Leads from search
  • First-time website visitors

This is the biggest takeaway from Goggle’s latest update: Rather than making changes just to appease Google and stay one step ahead of the algorithm changes, it makes more sense to truly invest in a long-term mobile strategy.  If you’re not yet mobile-friendly, then it’s time. In today’s competitive SEO world, you simply won’t be able to compete with those who are. If you want to get ahead of your competition, start now while you still have the time to do so.