It’s been a few months since “Mobilegeddon.” So, as a small business owner, how’s that working for you?
Mobilegeddon happened in April when Google launched an algorithm favoring websites that are oriented to customers with mobile devices. Google’s mobile-friendly action (and similar moves by Facebook) required big changes to most websites to make them easy to read on small screens.
According to a pre-Mobilegeddon post in USA Today, techie Jefferson Graham predicted that 40% of major websites could be affected by Google’s new algorithm. And until they accommodate to this new reality, they’ll be virtually unfindable; “unfriendly” sites not only won’t top the rankings, they may not rank at all.
As Homes.com marketer Grant Simmons notes: “Website(s) will cease to exist if they don’t update to a mobile-friendly platform.” But he offers these solutions: Run Google’s mobile-friendly test; check out Google’s webmaster resources and invest in a mobile-friendly platform.
Sounds like an opportunity wrapped in a challenge. But is it too pricey for small businesses?
Not really: There are now several companies offering affordable products to make your site friendly for smartphone and tablet customers as well as other online shoppers. As Igor Faletski of mobile shopping platform Mobify points out: “Responsive web design enables web designers and developers to build and maintain a single website to serve all kinds of devices: smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more.”
If you aren’t there yet, you may want to consider your options. It’s a mobile world, and failure shouldn’t be one of those options.