Truth be told, the gab on the web so far is that not many webmasters have seen any real change despite the fact that a Google representative said on Friday that the update has now fully rolled out. It is still best for the user to access a mobile responsive website and, as mobile traffic is climbing, ultimately this is what this is all about. .

This past week in their official blog, Google posted some tips for businesses and webmasters about their #mobilemadness campaign.  So we are republishing those that aren’t too technical so you get it from the horse’s mouth:

The original is at http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ca/2015/04/mobilemadness-campaign-to-help-you-go.html.

Again, if you have any questions or would like some help with your website or local search marketing, you can contact us.

Maximize your online strategy & search performance

In this presentation, learn to create an online strategy for your business, measure your search performance, and choose the right partner to design and manage your mobile website.

The 3 topics are:
1. Choosing the right online channel
2. Webmaster Tools
3. SEO as a long term strategy

Basics of a mobile website for small and medium businesses

If you own a small business, this series of short videos will show you how easy it can be to make your web pages mobile-friendly. The 4-part series include:

1. Learn the tools: PageSpeed Insights, Mobile-Friendly Test and Mobile-Usability
2. Bring it in: Viewports, zoom and plugins
3. Focus on the user: Tap targets, margins and font sizes
4. Set it right: Redirects and canonicals

Q&A session

Here are answers to questions you asked about the mobile-friendly ranking change. Check the comments section here for answers to questions we weren’t able to get to during the live event.

Results from audience polls

Thousands of people participated in the 3 polls below. What are your thoughts on the results—surprising or predictable?

Mobile-friendly tips

These tips highlight specific resources to help you go mobile-friendly.

View the entire #mobilefriendly collection here.

Mobile-friendly one-sheeter

Download the one-sheeter so you can access and share these 5 steps to mobile-friendliness on-the-go.

Google announced that on April 21st lack of a mobile-friendly website will hurt

Google announced back at the end of February that starting on April 21^st “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 tech press have labeled this “Mobilegeddon” because websites that haven’t been made mobile-friendly will definitely be affected in a negative way in Google mobile search results.

April 21^st is tomorrow.

Now, just to be clear, this Google update will only impact mobile search results, not laptop or even tablet search results.

But as mobile use has climbed close to and over 50% on some of our client websites, the lack of a mobile responsive website for a business will hurt their local search results.

Potential opportunity to get ahead if you have a mobile-friendly website

However, rather than looking at this in a negative way, it also presents a significant opportunity to get a head of slower competitors who are not so tech savvy.

The change Google is bringing means that potential clients searching for products or services on their phones will not be able to find businesses easily if they do not have a website that is phone-friendly.  If a business is currently on first page of search results on Google’s mobile search, they will in all likelihood lose that first page advantage if they do not have a mobile responsive website.  Those that do have mobile friendly sites will probably move up onto the first page reap the advantages of being there.  So your website should be mobile friendly, shouldn’t it?

Okay, what is mobile responsive anyway?

What is a mobile responsive website, you ask?

Very simply, it is a website that automatically adjusts how it looks to the size of the screen that a viewer is using.  This is so that the site not only looks good but is functional no matter the screen size.

It is very easy to tell if a website is responsive.  Look at the TPM website, for example.  Take the browser window and make it smaller and larger.  Watch how the website display changes to suit the size of the window.  If a website does that, it is responsive.

Screen-size responsiveness makes for a better user experience.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to navigate a full-sized website on a 4” or 5” screen.

Ultimately good for mobile users

So Google’s push to have websites responsive is a good one ultimately for users. But it can be hell for business owners who don’t really understand these issues.  It also presents an opportunity for those that do, to jump ahead.

TPM has been on the mobile-friendly bandwagon since its beginning.  We started installing customized mobile responsive WordPress sites using Studiopress’s search engine-friendly Genesis framework back when they first came out a few years ago.  We then went on a program last year of upgrading our older client’s legacy websites to full responsiveness.  With that completed, all our clients are prepared for “Mobilegeddon” and ready to be at the head of the pack.

We can help you out

You can be ready too, if you are not already.  We can help you with that.

If you would like some more information or direction or a quote on making your site mobile-friendly, just call us at 888-788-5124 or use the handy contact form.

UPDATE: This post was originally written in 2013, but the latest news from Google makes mobile websites more vital today and in the future. Google has announced that starting April 21, 2015, new mobile friendly search rules will start rolling out. If a website is mobile-friendly, it will appear higher in mobile searches. Wondering if your site is “mobile friendly”? Check it here using Google’s own tool.

Bottom line: if your website is not mobile friendly…mobile searchers won’t even be given a chance to find you.

Originally published: August 2013

According to a 2012 Pew Research report, 55% of cell phone users use their phones to go online. Frankly, I’m surprised it’s that low. [Note as of mid-2013 it is in fact higher–up to 63% per Pew. The next released results will undoubtedly be higher still.]

Given that millions of Americans are browsing the web on their phone, tablet or other portable devices, is your business website accessible in an easy-to-use format? Put another way, does your business have a “mobile responsive” website?

A mobile responsive website simply means one that is designed to give mobile visitors the optimum experience on their phone or tablet. For a well-known example, the Boston Globe redesigned their site to be mobile responsive. It automatically adjusts to fit the viewing device, be it an iPhone or Nexus tablet.

A surprising number of businesses, big and small, still present mobile visitors with their full-size website, alienating visitors right off the bat and inducing squinting, pinching, zooming or worse – grumbling, muttering and leaving.

Does making a website mobile friendly make a difference in business?

To answer this, we’ll pull back the curtain and reveal one client’s story: A local dental clinic approached us in mid-2012. They had a static non-responsive website they hated. It was ugly, it didn’t convert visitors to new patients and, to make matters worse, was being managed by a company that was not responsive to their needs.

Needless to say, the site was as unresponsive as their existing marketing company. So we got to work—meeting with the client, agreeing on goals and implementing the strategies to achieve them, such as content marketing, press releases and pay-per-click ad management.

But first and foremost, the action we took was immediately making their new website mobile responsive. This included putting their phone number and location prominently at the top of their website, which gave mobile visitors a fast and easy way to contact them and make appointments. We also started a targeted mobile ad campaign.

The results, in a word, have been explosive:

• Mobile traffic to their site has gone from 38% of total traffic to nearly 78%. The site’s overall traffic, fueled by content marketing strategies, has increased by 128%
• Because their mobile website was set up to capture these visitors and turn them into patients, calls into their office have increased a staggering 176%

Know Thyself…or Find Someone Who Does

Know where your potential customers are.

Know how they can find you.

Know how to present and market your online presence so they can easily connect with you.

Contact us and we’ll do all of that for you. Reach us at 888-788-5124 or fill out the form here.