This is likely to mean that sites that are not mobile-friendly may suffer the consequences if they want to rank well in all searches. No-one really knows what Google plans to do exactly, but with many businesses relying on having an online presence it is worth taking note of the changes.
This does not apply to apps which are specifically designed for mobile phones and often have special features.
In principle most websites can be viewed on your pc, laptop, tablet or mobile phone. However not all websites adapt well to all three. Google knows that more and more people are now browsing using mobile devices so they want to encourage all website owners to make the necessary upgrades.
Many small business owners may have a website that is a few years old but is working perfectly, so they may not know if it is important to ensure that their site is mobile friendly or responsive. Basically mobile and desktop sites will be ranked separately, so in order to do well in both you will need to be optimised.
If you are a small business with a website how can you tell if your site is already mobile-friendly and do you need to worry if it is not?
According to iProperty Front End Web Developer Debbie O´Brien it depends on a number of factors. “If your site is not mobile friendly it doesn´t mean that it will disappear from normal Google searches but may not be as highly ranked in mobile searches.
The most important thing to consider is whether or not your own customer base is likely to use your site with a smartphone. If they are, you should probably consider optimising your site sooner rather than later.”
You can tell if your website is responsive or mobile friendly by using the pinch test. That means that if you view your website on a smart phone or tablet and you have to pinch to see the page, you are not optimised for mobile.
To test if your website will past the test you can go to: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
Image: Twin Design / Shutterstock.com
