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BLOG: Don’t lose your SEO: Google’s new mobile deadline is April 21
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Last year, consumers accessed websites on tablets and smartphones more frequently than on desktop or laptop computers.
Search engines notice this — you can think of every single search and click as a vote for a website, and Google has the world’s largest sample of public opinion. Given the explosive popularity of mobile devices, Google took measures to add device type as yet another factor to its search engine algorithm.
Starting next month, Google will penalize websites that aren’t mobile friendly. Google’s suggestion to webmasters is to use a responsive design. With a responsive design, a website will determine the user device before the page loads. The site will then show a specific layout optimized to the device being used, ie, it will conform page size and graphic elements to be clear, visually appealing and easy to navigate. Read more by clicking here.
Is your site mobile friendly? Now is the time to find out. Go to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly and run a test for your website. You can also view your site on a computer and then view the same site on a mobile device. If the sites look exactly the same on both devices, then your site is most likely not mobile friendly and you should contact your webmaster. The Google penalties can be difficult to remedy once implemented.
Make sure to have your website mobile optimized by April 21 or risk losing your SEO ranking.