Google Developments Encourage Mobile NOW!

Kelly Meeneghan

The importance of mobile optimization is not breaking news. A smart business has strategies in place to ensure they reach and deliver a positive user experience to on-the-go consumers. However, Google is making moves to make this strategy more important than ever before. Earlier this month, the search engine giant announced two actions they are taking which places a higher priority on websites that are optimized for mobile devices, be it responsive design, mobile website or app.

In fact, Google revealed that they have already made the first move – App Indexing. While many search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing experts predicted this would happen, it wasn’t until recently that Google started to use application content to help determine results.

This is a significant development for businesses. Now, if a business has both a strong website and relevant app, there is a much higher chance that the business will outrank competitors that do not have the same strategy. One thing to note, however, is that Google will not find the app content on its own just yet. App developers are required to inform the search engine where the content lives within the app and also provide a link to the business website that directly correlates to the specific content. Those who search must be currently signed into the app in order to see these effects in search results.

April 21^st will see another big development when it comes to mobile search via Google. The company announced that it will officially leverage mobile friendliness as a ranking signal. In other words, those who search for a company via smartphone, for example, will have a higher chance of seeing mobile friendly websites in their search results over websites only optimized for PC viewing. This will impact all languages worldwide.

Since the search engine expects this algorithmic change to transform search as we know it, they are launching this development immediately in hopes of giving businesses the time to optimize.

With these two changes significantly redefining the search landscape, it is safe to say that mobile optimization is no longer a matter of convenience. It is now a matter of survival for businesses that want to stay competitive on the Web.

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