There is no doubt that the number of people using smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices to search the internet is growing fast. Google strives to provide the best results and experience for its users and says the following on the Webmaster Central Blog: “When it comes to search on mobile devices, users should get the most relevant and timely results, no matter if the information lives on mobile-friendly web pages or apps.”
“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.”
The warning signs of Google’s imminent change have been popping up for months. Mobile search results have started showing mobile friendly indicators and speed warnings. Webmaster Tools has been sending notices about pages that are not mobile friendly. They have also released a mobile usability testing tool. If the traffic you get from mobile users is important to you and your website does not use a responsive design or some type of mobile version, it is time to make some changes before the Google mobile-friendly update rolls out on April 21, 2015.
