website design cedar rapids iowaJust like the rest of your digital life, Google is constantly changing how it lists it’s search engine results. It can be a daunting task to try to keep up with all the changes Google (and Facebook) are constantly making and one wonders whether it’s even worth it. The short answer is “yes,” particularly when it comes to your company website showing on the first page of search engine results when people are looking for you and your services.

One of the biggest changes that Google has implemented recently is what it calls “mobile first indexing.” This basically means rewarding sites that are mobile friendly. The reason is simple. Mobile (smartphone) web browsing now accounts for better than 65% of all website views. It is believed that by the end of this year, that well over 69% of websites will be viewed first on mobile devices. So Google sees that mobile responsive websites are clearly the most relevant websites being used. So the big question is “what does this mean for your existing website?”

Google Mobile-First Indexing: What Does It Mean?

It is important to understand what mobile-first search engine indexing really is. Mobile-friendly, responsive websites are the default foundation for all websites moving forward. So as far as Google is concerned, your mobile-friendly, responsive website should show up higher in search results. The reason is simple: more users are searching on the mobile, smartphone devices instead of regular desktop computers.

This doesn’t mean your old website will disappear in search results. It means that because it’s not mobile-friendly you will very likely fall in terms of search ranking position.

Getting a Boost from Mobile-First Ranking

As of this year, Google has finished rolling out mobile-first ranking for all websites. It is important for you to monitor your search ranking position and act accordingly. If your current website is not mobile-friendly, you will want to update it to the current standards as soon as possible to ensure the best search results position possible.

How to Make Sure My Website is Mobile Friendly

The easiest way to make sure your website is up to date and mobile-friendly is to make sure it has been created using “responsive” website technology. Trying to add responsive technology into an existing website can be an expensive exercise in frustration and wasted time. It is best to simply have it redesigned with the latest responsive design already built into the foundation of your website.

The other way to become mobile-friendly is to create a separate mobile website on a sub-domain of your existing website. For example if your regular website is at www.example.com, your mobile website might be at m.example.com. Again, this is an expensive option, not favored by many. It also doubles your work going forward trying to maintain two websites instead of one.
But even if your website is mobile-friendly, you also need to make sure your technical “ducks” are in a row. One of the major search position ranking factors is website speed. Does your website load fast? This is extremely important on a mobile, smartphone device and Google rewards those websites that are the fastest to load in their benchmark tests which they conduct millions of times a day.

How Can Albee Digital Help?

Our Cedar Rapids and Syracuse (NY)-based website designers and SEO specialists at Albee Digital and our sister company, ATS Design Group, know just how important it is to the success of your business for you to have a website that can be viewed and used on mobile smartphone devices. We build responsive mobile-friendliness into all our websites. It is important for us to deliver the best possible web design product to each of our customers on time, and within budget. That’s why we do everything possible to work closely with you, and always keep in mind that you best interests are what is most important to both of us.

If you have questions, or are considering updating your website, consider contacting us for a free, initial consultation. We will work one-on-one with you to answer all your questions and help you achieve the best Google search ranking possible.