10 Things You Need To Know About Google's Mobile Algorithm Update

** Update:  April 23 @ 3:30pm:  I thought it might be relevant to add a chart from StatCounter showing the search traffic trends from 2013 - 2014.  I believe this chart helps to put the seemingly urgent algorithm update from Google in perspective.  As you can see , mobile search traffic is growing while desktop search traffic is declining:

Google engineer Matt Cutts, speaking at SMX West in March 2014, said that he “wouldn't be surprised” if mobile search exceeded desktop queries this year (meaning, by the end of 2014).  Likewise, a speaker from Google made a similar comment during a roundtable discussion at the International Franchising Association around the beginning of 2014. (source: Search Engine Land)

<< end of update from April 23rd >>

Since Google launched its mobile algorithm update today, there's been a lot of conflicting information buzzing around the web as to what types of websites are affected, how will Google determine the impact in rankings, and what exactly is Google looking for in the update.

I'd like to take a moment to clarify exactly what's going on with this mobile algorithm update, and hopefully reel in some of the misconceptions that are out there.

So let's dive straight into the 10 things you need to know about Google's mobile algorithm update.  And these are not my interpretations or opinions - these are the key points put out by Google today as they pertain to the mobile algorithm update.  I'm just boiling it down into 10 "easy to digest" points:

1)  Only mobile search results:  

The algorithm update pertains only to mobile search results, not the search results you see on desktop or laptop computers.  This is an update targeting only the mobile search results in Google and your rankings will only be impacted on mobile devices (if your website is not mobile friendly, that is...).

2)  Making it easier for mobile searchers to find mobile friendly sites:  

Google's objective with the algorithm update is to make it easier for searchers to find relevant websites right from their mobile phone.  So if you have a website that's mobile friendly, Google is going to favor that website in the mobile search results.  Conversely, if your website is not mobile friendly, you can probably expect to see less mobile traffic clicking through to your website due to a drop in rankings.

3)  Readable text on mobile devices:  

One of the key attributes Google is looking for when it comes to mobile friendly websites is the font size of your text on mobile devices.  Google wants to avoid mobile users from having to double tap or pinch out to view text that's too small.  Something common with websites that are not mobile friendly.

4)  Even spaced tap targets:

Mobile screens are small, so if your tappable elements are stacked to tightly, then it's more difficult for the visitors on mobile devices to decisively tap on their desired elements.  So the layout and spacing of your tappable elements are a key indicator to the mobile responsiveness of your site.

5)  Unplayable content on mobile devices:

Perhaps one of the most frustrating things a mobile visitor to your site can experience is a video or presentation that simple won't play on a mobile device.  If you are embedding Youtube videos or Wistia videos, this is typically a non-issue.  But many websites have old video embeds that are simply not conducive to mobile devices.

6)  Horizontal scrolling:

Equally frustrating is when you visit a site from your mobile phone and you have to scroll right or left to read the content.  If your content does not conform to a mobile screen automatically, this is a strong indication your website is not mobile friendly.  If you have to scroll horizontally to view the content of your website, then you more than likely are "not mobile friendly".

7)  Affects search results in all languages:

This mobile algorithm update is global - as in, all languages are impacted.

8)  Individual pages are impacted, not websites as a whole:

One thing that people fail to realize is that Google ranks individual web pages, not websites.  Look at the search results for any query and you see, in the green URL's, individual pages from websites, not just homepages.  As such, Google's update will only impact only the pages within your website that are not mobile friendly.  However, in most cases, if one of your pages is not mobile friendly, then it's probably the case your entire website is not mobile friendly.  Not always the case, but certainly in most cases.

9)  High quality, non-mobile friendly sites, can still rank high:

Because Google's algorithm looks first at the searchers intent and ranks pages according to the relevance of the search query, websites with high quality content that are not mobile friendly can still rank #1 - even outranking all of the mobile friendly sites, but with less quality in the content.

10)  There's still hope for your non-friendly website:

Finally, even if your website is not mobile friendly right now, you can still take the necessary steps to make your site mobile friendly and get ranked on mobile devices.  Once you update your website, Google will crawl, index, and account for your new mobile friendly pages.  One way to expedite the re-crawling and indexing of your newly mobilized pages is to use Google's fetch to index tool in Google Webmasters.  This will help to bring Google crawlers back to your site quickly to reindex your updated pages.  Of course, your site needs to be added to Google Webmasters first in order to use this tool.  But you can do that here.

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Written by Bobby Holland, Founder at BipperMedia.com

Bipper Media:  Create ~ Connect ~ Convert