More than 60% of all searches on the internet now start on a mobile device. More shocking is the fact that 48% of the population uses a mobile device EXCLUSIVELY to research online. Those statistics don’t even include other non-PC devices like smart-TV’s and game consoles.
The bottom line: Your business website must be optimized for mobile, and you better move fast if it isn’t.
“Mobilegeddon” is coming soon. In fact, there’s a date certain…April 21st. On that date, Google (which represents 85% of all internet search traffic) will start downgrading sites that aren’t optimized for mobile. Your previous first page ranking will be at risk.
Anyone who’s ever been in a pinch (pun intended) while out on the road doing some emergency research on a business before making a purchase knows how frustrating it can be. Squinting, pinching, spreading and constantly having to zoom in and zoom out just to find a phone number or address can annoy you to the point you give up. In fact, more than 80% of mobile visitors will not return…ever…to a website that isn’t optimized for mobile. Ever. Think about that. You potentially lost a customer…forever.
Device Responsive vs. Mobile
There are two ways to make your site “mobile friendly” and there’s a lot of debate about which is better.
A mobile site is essentially a copy of your website, where the server does the work to deliver an optimized page that’s smaller and easier to navigate. Most of the time, it operates on a separate domain (m.yourcompany.com) which sometimes lead to additional costs and maintenance headaches. The only way to test whether your site is working is to view it on a smartphone. In addition, it can actually hurt your organic search traffic and links shared from mobile browsers don’t count as search link equity toward your primary site.
In responsive design, the device does the work and automatically adjusts according to a device’s screen size (large or small) and orientation (landscape or portrait). It switches between these options on-the-fly. Responsive design lets you keep your domain and nothing really changes.
Google (and therefore, us at Maudience) prefer device responsive design. The technology is a bit more forward thinking because once added to the site, it will work on next weeks…next months…next years…new devices without having to be programmed further. You’ll have to re-work your mobile site in order to stay current when the next generation of phones and mobile browsers (iWatch anyone?) come on the market and into the mainstream.
Are You Ready?
To test whether your current website is optimized for mobile devices, simply shrink your browser on your PC and shrink or expand the window. Go ahead and check on our website, www.Maudience.com or any of those that we recently designed. If your website changes with the orientation of the window, you have nothing to worry about.
If not…well…hopefully you meet with a qualified web-design team like us at Maudience prior to the deadline. It might also be a good way to start looking at your options for making other changes while you’re at it. April 21st is going to be a busy day.
