Google’s New Mobile-Friendly Algorithm

Tampa SEO Upturned | Google’s New Mobile-Friendly Algorithm

Tampa Web Design – The world of SEO-friendly web design will, on April 21, 2015, undergo a revolution of historic importance. Google has announced a significant expansion pack to its mobile ranking demotion algorithm, which originally debuted in 2013. From now on, says the search engine behemoth, either your web pages are mobile-friendly, or they’re not. You’re either in the club, or you’re not.

The consequences of being excluded from the club of mobile-friendliness are steep indeed. Web pages deemed as “unfriendly” will be excluded from search engine results or included as tokens at the bottom of the listings. Desktop-optimized websites stand to lose gobs of traffic, particularly as 60 percent of all Google searches are conducted using a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet.

Google being Google, a web of secrecy has been spun around the nitty-gritty details of the forthcoming algorithm. More than 200 factors influence the rankings. Factors include page load times, font sizes, responsiveness and Googlebot access. But “don’t chase the algorithm,” says Google, which instead encourages Tampa SEO marketers and website designers to craft superior user interfaces and let the chips fall where they may.

The company has consolidated recommendations from its programmers and current users on how to improve a page’s mobile-friendliness. First and foremost, says Google, allow Googlebot access to Javascript, CSS and image files in robot.txt files. Use responsive websites that flow fluidly to fit any operating system and any viewing screen. The same HTML code should govern each URL; only the CSS should change between devices. Google also suggests minimizing faulty redirects, eliminating smartphone-only 404 errors, and cutting out auto-play or license-constrained media.

The algorithm works in real time, page by page. Web pages deemed suitable for mobile devices will be shown in the SERPs with a gray “mobile-friendly” tag in the description underneath title. Webmasters can check their pages statuses by running them through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool. Those who subscribe to Google’s Webmaster Tool can remedy potential issues presented in the Mobile Usability Report.

Google has also announced that mobile applications indexed by the search engine will figure higher in mobile search. For now, that change only applies to users signed into those Android apps installed on their devices.

The algorithm will be rolled out on April 21, 2015. Global implementation, all languages included, should be accomplished within a week. Tamp web design and Tampa SEO stand to change dramatically.

It’s time to get in the club.