This year Google have made a huge change to how they rank websites on their searches. They have rolled out a new mobile-friendly algorithm as they revealed that mobile search queries on smartphones now outnumber those on desktops and tablets.
Under these new rules, Google will give preferential search rankings to sites optimised for smartphones. Google defines mobile-friendly as sites featuring:
- Readable text without zooming
- Content sized to a smartphone screen with no horizontal scrolling
- Esay use of links
- Absence of applications not suited to mobile devices e.g. Flash
It is worth noting that this update:
- Affects only search rankings on mobile devices
- Affects search results in all languages globally
- Applies to individual pages, not entire websites
A recent study showed that over 40% of all websites will fail these new Google tests. At Mooki we only use responsive designs for our websites which ensures they render correctly on tablet or smartphone. Business owners cannot afford to be complacent with their outdated non-responsive websites.