Many of you may have heard that Google will penalise websites which are not responsive, but you may be wondering why has Google done this. And possibly, what is a responsive website? And finally, what does it mean for my business’ Google ranking? Let’s start with the first question.
Why have Google done this?
By now I think most of us know that Google ranks websites according to an algorithm which is constantly changing.
Google’s algorithm is just trying to imitate the decision making process that normal people go through when looking for a product or service, in order to bring searchers the best results. The reason it is always changing is that the way people search and indeed use the internet is constantly changing.
A few years ago the majority of people were accessing the internet using computers, either a desktop or a laptop. Now nearly 60% of people are using Google on a mobile device (tablet or phone). So by penalising websites that are not ‘responsive’ Google is attempting to provide a better experience for searchers.
So this brings us on to what is a responsive website?
Being responsive doesn’t just mean that your website is ‘mobile friendly’. According to Google it is not good enough for your website to work on mobile devices. Google believes that the layout of your website should adjust to different devices to provide an optimum viewing experience and this is what being ‘responsive’ means. So if a user is viewing your website on their phone the display should shift to one long column and the navigation should be easy to use on a small screen.
So finally, what does this mean for my business?
Well, it may make very little difference in reality. Responsiveness is just one of many factors that Google uses to rank websites and certainly there are many other factors you need to make sure you are getting right, such as; keywords, user content, meta content. However bearing in mind that Google has brought this into affect because it believes it is what the public wants….you would be advised to ensure your website is responsive sooner rather than later.
Most websites can be converted to responsive with very little work, especially if there were built in the last 5 years. If responsiveness or indeed Search Engine Ranking Position is something you are worried about for your business get in touch for more information.