The reason why it’s critical to make your website responsive is due to the fact that 125 million U.S. consumers own smartphones. And 62 percent have used it to make an online purchase in 2017.
As the continued rise of mobile phones advances, Google is aiming to improve users mobile experience. Thus, Google will be changing its algorithm and search engine rankings this July.
Publishers should understand the importance of not only having a mobile-responsive site. They should also restructure their SEO tactics.
Here are three ways to make a responsive website for Google’s search algorithm changes:
Mobile-First Indexing
When you search for something on Google’s search engine, its “spiders’ crawl through both mobile and desktop indexes to find the most relevant, useful and trustworthy answers.
From that data, Google shows you a list of sites, ranking in order of popularity and authority.
Google’s algorithm is centered around its mobile index first. This means that if you only have a desktop version of your website, you could be missing out on valuable traffic.
If a site isn’t optimized for mobile, it might still be included in the index. But it could hinder its performance as mobile-friendly sites will rank above a desktop-only website.
Acknowledge Your Page Speed
Publishers can anticipate what they call, ‘The Speed Update. This means that Google plans to use page speed in mobile search ranking.
Thus, if a mobile website loads at a slow rate, it is unlikely that it will make an appearance on Google’s search engine.
However, Google says that if a page has very strong content but is still stow, it may still rank highly. To be safe, ensure that your mobile site loads quickly as to avoid losing valuable visitors.
Examine Your Content
In order for Google to rank your mobile-site, it needs to be able to read it clearly. Therefore, make sure that the content on your sites desktop version is just as valuable as the content on your mobile version.
Content should be easily digestible, relevant, and use clear fonts.
Create content with a responsive template to ensure that everything is crawlable and indexable.
All technical aspects should be performing efficiently on your mobile site.
This may include equivalent metadata descriptions, social tags, and verifying your mobile search console on Google.
Ensure Easy Navigation
Your mobile navigation consists of menus and internal links.
The way it is structured on your site is an important part of keeping viewers on your page.
If your site looks disorganized or confusing to navigate, your audience will likely leave. Google will be prompted to disregard your site in its search engine.
Search engines rank your site by analyzing the structure of it to determine its primary functions and the keyword-supporting content within your page.
That being said, design your mobile site’s main menu with the most important pages determined by your visitors’ behavior.
Make sure you’re also tracking which CTA’s are generating the most clicks and conversions to analyze what is or is not working well for your audience.
How to Make a Responsive Website
Your viewers likely don’t have a lot of time or patience.
Make sure to always include a ‘search box” that is easily accessible, ensure links are redirecting to the appropriate landing pages, and that the menu looks the same on each page.
Ultimately, with the limitless amount of websites in this mobilized era, your viewers aren’t going to stay on your site if your website isn’t optimized for mobile.
Your viewers aren’t going to become leads unless your page loads quickly, your content is valuable to them, and your website is easy to navigate.
To learn more about how to make a responsive website, please contact us.