Google’s New Mobile Ranking Rules: What You Need to Know

Guest post by Kathy Dalpra

Getting listed in search engines in hard enough without Google constantly changing the rules on us…and they’re at it again. On April 21st, websites that are mobile-friendly will receive search engine ranking preference.

What It Means for You

If your website isn’t specifically coded and/or built to work with mobile devices, you’re at a disadvantage. All other factors being equal, someone who does have a mobile-friendly website will likely rank higher than yours, especially when users search from their smartphones.

Why It Matters

I took a survey of my own SEO client websites, representing hundreds of thousands of visitors every month (not an exaggeration) and found that 41% of their traffic came from mobile devices and tablets.

The Knot supports this finding with a 2014 report revealing that 6 out of 10 brides and grooms use mobile devices in their wedding planning.

Having a mobile-friendly website isn’t just about SEO rankings. It’s also about keeping the 30-40% of your existing visitors happy when they view your website from their phones and tablets.

3 Steps for Going Mobile

1. Choose a mobile structure for your site:

   1) Mobile site
   2) Mobile app
   3) Responsive site

2.  Remember to test media too, including images, video and audio files
3.  Avoid a flash website and too many flash elements

If you’re not sure how much traffic you’re getting from mobile devices or how to test your website for mobile compatibility, you can request access to a free mobile toolkit I created to help you with these steps.

About the Author: Kathy takes the overwhelm out of SEO and website marketing so wedding businesses can thrive online. You can connect with her at http://brideappeal.com.