Will Google Penalise Non Mobile Friendly Websites?

Delivering a Good Mobile Search Experience

Google has been working diligently to improve their mobile search results to deliver a better experience for users searching on smartphones and tablets.

The Mobile Friendly Tag

One of the most recent changes has been displaying a “mobile-friendly” tag next to websites in mobile search results that have been confirmed to display correctly on a mobile screen.

To earn a mobile-friendly label your site needs to pass criteria set by Google. They have made a tool available so you can find out if your site meet’s Google’s standards or not. The tool can be found HERE

Google is doing more than just that, they are actively testing sites, not just that, Google has taken to sending warnings to users who have verified their site via Google Webmaster Tools when their site is not mobile friendly.

If Google detects an issue with your site in terms of how it’s displayed or how it functions on mobile devices, you may expect to get an email warning that your site may not rank as well in mobile search results. The email will indicate which site and which pages the issues were detected on, along with steps on how to fix the issues.

Mobile Friendly as a Ranking Signal

When Google introduced its mobile-friendly site criteria late last year, it indicated that it may be used as a ranking signal for the search algorithms in the future. It seems though, that Google intends to roll out a mobile-friendly algorithm update sooner rather than later.

Responsive Sites in Audiology are Imperative

As I have said before, responsive or mobile friendly websites are imperative and mobile search is becoming very important in healthcare for user experience, it appears that it now may be important for ranking. . If that’s the case, and Google seems to be giving site owners that warning. If there’s one thing you do to improve your site this year, making it a mobile friendly website should be a top priority.