It was way back in 2013 when we first heard that Google would penalize websites that weren’t mobile friendly. Towards the end of 2014, a Google spokesperson hinted that the mobile user experience would become a ranking factor. In early 2015, several website owners received messages warning about mobile usability issues on their websites. As of April 21, Google will now penalize you if your website is not mobile-friendly.
What can you do to improve your mobile usability?
- Don’t put your links or buttons too close to each other. This could cause a mobile user to accidentally tap a link they did not intend to.
- Don’t make text links too short. This could make it hard to tap a link on a mobile device. For example:
Hootsuite is a great tool for managing your Twitter accounts – Bad
Hootsuite is a great tool for managing your Twitter accounts – Better - Avoid using Flash for any important web content, as most mobile devices do not support it.
- Optimize your site with responsive design, to ensure that the height and width of the website adapt to the size of the phone or tablet’s screen.
- Ensure that your base font size is at least 16 pixels.
Since 60 percent of online traffic now comes from mobile devices, Google will now rank mobile-friendly sites higher in searches in an effort to promote a positive user experience.
Is your website mobile friendly? Contact MJ2 Marketing today to ensure you don’t lose your rank in Google searches.
