Mobilegeddon: Is Your Business Ready?

By Daniel Hickey Director of Creative Advertising, Hickey Marketing Group

Smartphones. Social media. Instant communication. Our world is ever changing and evolving. Along with these changes in technology come changes in how businesses operate. One of the biggest changes can be seen through business’ presence on social media and via their organizations’ websites.

Over the years, I have noticed business owners commonly make the mistake of treating Google like a search engine. Yes, it is a search engine — but it’s so much more than that and should be treated as such. Although people search for keywords and phrases, they are ultimately looking for a business referral. Consumers rely on Google’s expertise and other users’ experience when deciding on what business to hire.

A few weeks ago, Google reconfigured its algorithm to reflect our society’s use of mobile devices. The change, commonly referred to as “mobilegeddon” by the digital community, is forcing businesses to adapt. When a consumer conducts a search on his or her mobile device/tablet, Google will display only mobile websites that were constructed with responsive design elements or a dedicated mobile version of the site. What is responsive Web design? It’s a method of constructing a website to minimize the amount of scrolling and text resizing when being viewed on a mobile device. In order to be considered a mobile-friendly website by Google’s standards, Web pages must be legible and functional on any mobile device. Part of that is the screen reorienting when the user moves the device horizontally or vertically without losing image quality or test size.

This change can drastically change a business’ Google rankings, particularly small businesses, if it isn’t addressed as soon as possible. Google will pull your website from its mobile search results if your website isn’t optimized for mobile viewing.

Here’s what you can to do make sure your business is doing its best to work with Google’s new algorithm:

• Make your website mobile responsive. If your website isn’t mobile-responsive, have your website redesigned so mobile users can visit your site. Because more than 30 percent of people use their cell phones to search the Web, you could be missing out on potential clients if your website doesn’t appear in the Google mobile search results.
• Write great content. In order for businesses to thrive, they need to treat Google like a person. Instead of writing content like they are writing for a search engine, they need to write content for their average client and consumer. Consumers should want to visit a business’ website because that business is the knowledge leader in its field, not solely for the purpose of vetting and hiring the company.
• Continually update your website. When a business owner creates new content for his or her website, I often advise them to write as if they are speaking to the most influential people in their industry. If their content can drive influential industry professionals, it will also drive the average consumer.

Although writing new, fresh content on a weekly basis can take longer to rank for SEO, it is better in the long run for your brand awareness and your overall web presence. Having content that is constantly being updated shows Google that you are a knowledge leader, which is something that is highly regarded. 

Daniel Hickey is the Director of Creative Advertising at Hickey Marketing Group, LLC, based in Redlands, California.