Rank Your Website: The Importance of A Mobile-Friendly Website

As a small business owner, you should be aware of how important it is to show up on Google. And we don’t mean down the ranks on pages 5, 10, 20, or 100… we mean really show up! Because according to Search Engine Journal, ‘75% of internet users never scroll past the first page of search results.’

That’s why it’s important to know how Google ranks websites. Staying informed will help you know exactly what you need from your website.

Mobile-Friendly Websites

As a website owner, you must consider the impact on your website’s Google position if it fails the mobile-friendly test.

Let’s throw some stats at you. The facts will help you understand the demand for mobile-friendly information on the go:

• 32% of the world’s population owns a smartphone (Bankmycell.com)
• 60% of searches occur on mobile devices (Statista)
• Google accounts for 96.84% of all mobile search queries worldwide (Oberlo)
• 80% of the top-ranked websites online are mobile-friendly (Digital Examiner)

So what does it mean to have a mobile-friendly website?

Unsure whether your website is mobile-friendly? If your website fits the screen of a mobile device you can consider it mobile-friendly. A responsive site offers the best user experience by rendering as desired across screens of all sizes – desktop, mobile, tablet. Your website isn’t mobile-friendly if they need to zoom in to read your text or scroll across the page. This makes your website frustrating to navigate and fails to deliver the best user experience.

Why does it matter that your website is mobile-friendly?

Back in April 2015, Mobilegeddon hit. Sounds dramatic right? For businesses with websites it was. This was the first time mobile-friendliness became a Google ranking signal. It was a necessary move for Google which prides itself on delivering web pages that offer the best user experience. With the increase in popularity of search across mobile devices, Google showed mobile users they were considering their needs. Subsequently, those with mobile-friendly websites became ranked above desktop sites.

In 2016, Google increased the effect of the mobile-friendly ranking signal to help users discover mobile-friendly pages more easily. And in 2020, they strengthened their stance, implementing a new form of indexing and doing away with the desktop crawler.

Mobile First

Now, mobile-first indexing is the standard. Although Google states user intent is a more powerful factor when ranking sites. This means if your website lacks optimisation for mobile devices it can still rank if it best answers a search query.

“​​While it’s not required to have a mobile version of your pages to have your content included in Google’s Search results, it is very strongly recommended.” ~ Google

Responsive Web Design Buckinghamshire

It’s time to face facts, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly in 2022 and beyond your business is at a disadvantage. Your site won’t be showing up, dazzling potential customers where it should be showing up.

It’s time to upgrade your website. Put your best foot forward and make sure everyone sees what you can do. Update to a responsive design in order to remain competitive on the digital playing field. And Web Design High Wycombe, based in Buckinghamshire can help. Just give us a call on 01494 356 778.