As if this year’s snowmaggedon wasn’t brutal enough. After surviving a record 9ft+ of snow this winter, today many Boston-based businesses may wake up to find their search rankings buried under the latest major Google search algorithm update.
Taking a page from the hyperbolic meteorologist playbook, industry experts are dubbing the update “mobilegeddon,” estimating 40% of top websites could be negatively impacted. And, yes, this update affects B2B businesses worldwide.
Do You Need to Panic?
What? No. Let’s just settle down. You don’t need to panic (yet), but you do need to stay informed so you can determine whether you should take action.
First, let’s see what Google, itself, has to say.
Long story short, the algorithm change will affect search engine ranking based on a “mobile-friendly” label. Pages will be judged on the following criteria:
Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
Uses text that is readable without zooming
Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped
If you want to make sure that your page meets the mobile-friendly criteria, Google suggests you do the following:
Check your pages with the Mobile-Friendly Test
Read Google’s updated documentation found in their Webmasters Mobile Guide on how to create and improve your mobile site
See the Mobile usability report in Google Webmaster Tools, which highlights major mobile usability issues across your entire site, not just one page
Check Google’s how-to guide for third-party software like WordPress or Joomla, in order to migrate your website hosted on a CMS (Content Management System) to use a mobile-friendly template
5 Tips to Surviving Mobilegeddon
Now that you have the basic facts, here is a list we’ve compiled of top mobile-friendly SEO tips to help you survive the “mobile apocalypse.” Enjoy.
1) The Advanced SEO’s Guide To Mobilegeddon: If you’re so far ahead that you’ve scoffed at other articles about doomsday mobilegeddon prepping, columnist Bryson Meunier has tips on taking it to the next level.
2) 9 Things You Need to Know About Google’s Mobile-Friendly Update: Our friends at Moz put together an excellent post to “cut through the noise and bring online marketers a clearer picture” of what will be happening today.
3) Don’t Change Your Mobile Plans for Google: Distilled CEO Will Critchlow and Head of R&D Tom Anthony discuss the likely impact and provide some practical advice.
4) Infographic: Mobile SEO Tips To Help You Survive The Coming Google Mobilegeddon
5) Building Your Mobile-Friendly Site: Rounding out the list is a best practice guide brought to you by the SEO geniuses of Distilled. You are welcome.
Bonus Tip: Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Update
This final tip comes from our in-house growth strategist Blake Harris:
“Your B2B buyers are using mobile devices throughout their buyer’s journeys, and relying on search at each step in that process. B2B companies who don’t realize this — whose sites aren’t mobile optimized already — are missing out on a huge opportunity to reach their target audiences. I welcome mobilegeddon. It’s an easy win and chance for brands who understand their buyers to pull ahead.”
By this point, we’ve all been through enough Google updates to know the drill. While the particulars may vary, it generally comes down to providing users and visitors with a good experience. Rather than trying to crack Google’s code, focus on your users. Yes, keep up-to-date with the latest guidelines, but also just use common sense (that’s what the majority of the guidelines are, anyway).
As with any big change, you can either view this latest mobile-friendly update defensively — how is Google going to penalize and screw me over this time? — or more proactively — how can we leverage these changes to our advantage? There’s a big opportunity here for those open and eager enough to take it.
Photo by: Neil Hinchley
The post How Your B2B Company Can Survive the Google Mobilegeddon appeared first on OpenView Labs.