Search results will now prioritize 'mobile friendly' sites

folarin okunola

April 22, 2015 10:08 AM

As the world shift from a largely desktop based Internet experience to a more mobile based one, the big players are all making major changes.

Google.

Google is changing its search algorithms to feature site that are more ‘mobile friendly’ much more prominently.

What this means is that when you make a search via Google now, search results will prioritize sites that the search engine considers ‘mobile-oriented’ ahead of others. In order words, sites that like Flash software and feature smaller text, not-so-easy-to-click links and an unresponsive design will move down the pecking order.

This new change will affect millions of website, but it’s impossible to determine just how many of the Internet’s current 177 million sites will be considered mobile-friendly. According to Mashable.com, that number doesn’t even include sites for small businesses that rely largely on location-based searches.

Forrester research estimates that 38% of all enterprise websites –websites of businesses with 1,000 or more employees – don’t meet Google’s new criteria.

For businesses, this is saying only one thing – get with the mobile program or get buried in search results, and lose revenue due to traffic hemorrhage.

A lot of consumers will be affected too – a staggering 89% of smartphone users world over use Google for searches. A finite way in which the search results will differ on mobile and desktop is unknown until the new search ranking update is fully implemented but users can expect a mobile experience that is easy to navigate.

folarin okunola