It’s now more important than ever that your business has a mobile friendly website – also known as a responsive website. If your website is not mobile-friendly then your ranking in Google’s mobile search results may have been penalised by their latest algorithm. This reality is one that cannot be ignored by modern day business. The reality is that not optimising your website for mobile devices will affect your success as a business in the long term. In addition, the following factors are likely to happen:
1. You will lose a significant source of traffic if your website is not mobile friendly
The modern user is increasingly browsing the Internet on smart phones and tablets. In fact, Google has confirmed that more searches are taking place on mobile devices than on computers; a prediction they announced last year but is now a reality. Since Google have a habit of changing their algorithm the effects of each update cannot be ignored – there has been a decrease in non mobile-friendly URL’s on the first few pages of search results. This trend is set to continue over the coming years. If your website isn’t mobile-optimised it’s likely that it will not show up on the first page of search results because you are carrying a penalty. With most users still searching for products, services or information using Google your business is at an immediate disadvantage regardless of how many years you’ve been around.
2. Your brand’s perception will be damaged
Having a responsive website is crucial for building your brand and engaging with your customer’s. Visitors using mobile devices on a non-friendly mobile website will on average spend less time visiting the site, will be less likely to perform any desirable actions (such as making a purchase or calling a phone number) and will quickly return to their search engine results to try out another website.
3. It affects your lead conversion rate and bounce rate
Websites that are only optimised for desktops do not convert well when viewed on a mobile device – that is what makes them mobile friendly – the ability to transform to the smaller device screen sizes of mobile phones and tablets such as the iPad. Links, calls-to-action, and text are difficult to read which causes a negative user experience – all of that is noted by Google when they index and render your website pages. If you optimise your website to be mobile friendly, your user’s experience will be positive and will in-turn increase your leads and sales. An example that we have seen recently is with our client The Heritage Window Company. In one week since launching their new website, they had 84% more leads and saw a 69% decrease in bounce rate (which means customer’s were having a better experience).
Help is at hand
If you are having any doubts whether your site meets Google’s latest algorithm requirements contact adams today.