MOBILEgeddon - Google's Mobile-Friendly Search Algorithm Update

April 21, 2015 By BJ Cook,

I picked the best day to start writing again. As you all are preparing for Google's mobile friendly algorithm update ... you're too late. It just started today. If your website is not mobile friendly, you've either scrambled over the past 2 months to be ready or you missed your launch date and now your boss is reading about the release across all mainstream media outlets like the following:

USAToday - 'Mobilegeddon' could be bad news for 40% of top websites - link
USAToday - 5 things to know about 'Mobilegeddon' - link
CNN Money - Google's 'Mobilegeddon' - 5 Fast Facts - link
WSJ - Google’s `Mobilegeddon’ Could Affect Major Companies - link
SearchEngineLand - Mobilegeddon Is Today: Here’s How It’s Going With Rollout Of Google’s Mobile Friendly Update - link
Google (OFFICIAL) - Rolling out the mobile-friendly update - link

Assuming you clicked above and read all the news about Google's mobile-friendly search algorithm update, here are some quick "What You Need to Knows" to share with your boss so you can get back on the path to greatness.

It's not a penalty, it's all about prioritization - Google says, "We’re boosting the ranking of mobile-friendly pages on mobile search results." That means your competitors' mobile-friendly websites will get a lift in organic search results over yours.
It's a global application - Google states, "Affects search results in all languages globally." That means those often neglected distributor websites or localized microsites you setup to show a "perceived international presence" need some attention now.
It's page-based so react iteratively if you have to - Google states, "Applies to individual pages, not entire websites." That could mean rolling out a responsive or mobile-friendly homepage since most of your traffic may end up there. You still have time as Google says it will take a few weeks to roll out.
Test out your website's mobile-friendliness free - Google offers its own tool to help you here
Get Responsive Web Design (RWD) Tips - Google offers a whole resource on where to start for converting that old website to the new and modern responsive web design methodology

Hopefully these three points help with your internal cause to go mobile-friendly, but again you had two months to prepare for this. This Google search algorithm update is more than just SEO, it touches your entire team across user experience, design and development. If you're a retailer this change not only will affect your website traffic, but also your ecommerce revenue. Good luck and let's raise our glasses to #MOBILEgeddon