In a perfect world, all sites would be mobile-friendly, just like we’ve been saying.
But the sad truth is that all sites aren’t mobile-friendly. Or else why would this upcoming Google update get announced?
The “Mobile May” Google update, announced last week, will boost the effects of Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm. If you’ve already optimized your site for mobile, this update won’t have any effect. And if you haven’t gone mobile, you should expect to see a nice increase from Google’s algorithms once you do.
A complete, global mobile-friendly movement would make users so happy—and it would certainly make Google happy. If you’ve somehow managed to avoid making the change, this is a pretty good incentive to finally get mobile optimization for your site.
Mobile May is expected to roll out gradually as Google fine-tunes their tools.
“How Big Will ‘Mobile May’ Be?”
A good question, considering April 21st’s Mobilegeddon didn’t exactly blow us away.
But consider this: You’ve heard Google talk non-stop about how important the user experience is. It’s so important that Google is making push after push to ensure mobile users (which makes up over half of all searches) are getting the experiences they deserve. Mobile May is right in line with that way of thinking.
It’s true that Mobilegeddon didn’t have the impact we were expecting. Sites that didn’t have time to convert or didn’t want to convert to mobile-friendly weren’t suddenly swept to the bottom of the SERPs. Instead, sites with mobile optimization saw some good performance. Nothing earth-shattering, but every bit helps.
Mobile May is believed to make even less of an impact due to its slower, roll-out nature. Rather than scare people into thinking it’s The End Times, we think Mobile May is supposed to incentivize webmasters who haven’t quite heeded Google’s call.
But make no mistake—the call to be mobile-friendly is one that Google takes very seriously. They’ll continue making pushes for it until we’re all on the same page, whether that’s through Accelerated Mobile Pages or the next big UX project.
“What if I’m Already Mobile-Friendly? What Does Mobile May Mean for Me?”
As we said—if your site is already mobile friendly, this new Google update won’t affect your site. But you aren’t getting the raw deal here. It just means you’re already meeting Google’s requirements for a good website. Well, part of them, anyway.
At the end of its announcement, Google mentioned one of its other mantras: “And remember, the intent of the search query is still a very strong signal – so even if a page with high-quality content is not mobile-friendly, it could still rank well if it has great, relevant content.”
Good content and mobile-friendliness are two parts of a larger whole. The whole being a website that not only attracts customers but retains them and turns them into customers.
If your site isn’t doing that, we’ve got help for you.
Are you mobile optimized yet? No more waiting—optimize your site for smartphones and tablets and enjoy the attention from Google and users.