Google will penalize websites not adapted to mobile devices

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Google announced last November 18 on its [official webmaster page] (http: / / googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.cz / 2014 / 11 / helping-users-find-mobile-friendly-pages.html) that would start to review whether the websites published so far were “mobile friendly,” or what is the same, if they are optimized for viewing through mobile devices. Something that will directly affect SEO rankings of the web pages. Google has taken a lot of trouble since then, making clear its intentions through actions such as:

• Launch of the new “Mobile Optimization Test” tool, which allows to check if a website is friendly to mobile devices.

• The recent introduction of the “mobile usability” tab in the tools for webmasters.

• The mass sending of messages to webmasters about the websites they manage, informing them of those that do not comply with their user-friendly web guidelines.

All this interest in the search engine in adapting the websites for any device is the immediate consequence of the huge growth that has been experienced by navigation through the mobile phone.  Think with GoogleWe have a global, comparative and specific view of the entire current navigation landscape. One of the tools that make up the following graphics has enabled us to create the following, which very well define the introduction and implementation of the “multiscreen” in our country:

What are the most commonly used devices by the Spanish?

Question: “Which of the following devices do you normally use?”

Total respondents: 1000 responses obtained

Base: total online and offline population

Source: Survey “The Connected Consumer 2014 ″

In Spain, the **current daily navigation frequency via mobile phone is 93%**This indicates a change of habit on the part of users and a possible loss of 93% of traffic to our website because it is not adapted to mobile devices. It makes sense, doesn’t it?

The mobile phone will be the first device with Internet access, exceeding computer or laptop navigation.

Before Google offered all kinds of results to mobile devices, and it was users who decided which websites to visit and which to leave for discomfort or personal tastes. it is Google who places in the first positions the websites that fit the “multidevice” screens, with the consequent fall of the positions of the websites that still retain an old web structure, designed only to be viewed through a computer.

The current key is to know how the user uses his device to be able to define the best mobile marketing strategy.

As we indicated at the beginning of this article, Google will benefit all websites that meet the current browsing conditions that users have. For a few weeks now, the search engine has been issuing warning messages through the Webmasters tool, urging them to meet basic criteria so that websites that are not friendly to mobile devices can now be adapted to them. Among the criteria are:

• Avoid software that is not compatible with mobile devices. For example, flash

• Use typographs that can be easily read without having to zoom (zoom)

• Adapting and redimensioning the content of the web so that users do not have to move down or zoom on their device

• Place links sufficiently separate from each other so it’s easier to click on them on a touch mobile screen.

What if I don’t optimize my device web?

The failure to adapt the web to mobile devices has three main problems:

• Loss of potential customers: all users who browse the web with their mobile phone or tablet leave the websites that do not fit their screens.

• Traffic loss: when a user does a Google search with his smartphone, it will only show you the results adapted to his device. This means that all websites that do not have a mobile version or adaptive design do not appear directly in the search engine.

• Criminalization: While a few years ago mobile phone was barely used, the growing trend of browsing through devices makes it essential to create a web that is adapted to new navigation methods. Google will penalize any web that lacks such a version.

If you want to make sure that your page meets the mobile optimization criteria, do the following:

• Check the website pages of your site with Google tool Mobile optimization test.

• Check how your web is displayed through different screens and devices. You can do it manually or through extensions to your browser. Emmet Re-View, for example, it works on Google Chrome, and Firefox has its own tool, Responsive Design View.

• Check the code and software of your website

• Introduce and develop SEO’s best practices for mobile phones

• If your website is part of a content manager (such as WordPress, Joomla or Drumal) you can check the Mobile Guide to Webmasterseither contact your service provider / professional web developer.

My site is not optimized for mobile, now what?

If your website has not passed the mobile optimization test, you have reason to worry, but there is no reason to panic because it can be solved. Many renowned companies are that because they do not have the necessary infrastructure or have not got the knowledge, they have not been able to implement the changes that require an optimized mobile web. Solutions to optimize a web, in the least of cases, require the creation of a new web intended only for mobile, so it takes time, talent and dedication to do so.

How to optimize your web for devices

There are two ways to adapt a web to the mobile devices. Let’s see it carefully:

• Complete restructuring of the web with “responsive” design: For this purpose, the updated HTML5 and CSS3 programming languages are used, as well as reconstructing the web to adapt all its content to the multiscreen devices. It is known as the adaptive web design, or the responsible web design.

• Create a new mobile only website: This is independent of the “matrix” web, and does not have to include all the content of the original web, but can be optimized only the most relevant part of the web for mobile viewing. In this case, when selecting this option, two websites, the original web and the web for mobile devices would be available.

To make each of the two options clear, we have created a table with the differences between Responsive design and mobile web:

WEB RESPONSIVE WEB FOR MOVIL

Restructure and redesign of the entire web from scratch It is created from scratch and is independent of the original web (matrix web)

It is adapted to any device (mobile, tablet, ebooks, computers…) It’s only for mobile devices.

It takes more time and dedication It’s more economical.

The responsive design is adapted to all existing content of the web It can be created only for a specific section, category or theme of the matrix web

The design, structure and content are the same for all devices The design, structure and content are different from the matrix web, specifically designed for mobile

Google is taking very seriously which websites are adapted for mobile and which ones are not. The daily warnings it sends to webmasters are intended to prepare us for future changes in the SEO ranking of the websites based on this new criterion.