Poor Mobile Optimization Could Affect Google Rankings

More and more people are using smartphones to surf the web, and Google wants their search experience to be as rich as that of desktop users. All too often, though, smartphone users visit a site with their phone only to find error pages or irrelevant content and leave in frustration.

In an effort to help smartphone users find what they’re looking for quickly and in the correct format, Google has announced that ranking changes could result when websites provide a poor search experience for mobile users, according to Google’s Webmaster Central Blog. Specifically, Google plans to change the rankings of websites that have smartphone misconfigurations.

What Issues Could Lead to a Drop in Rankings?

The blog identified two common mistakes that webmasters make when optimizing their site — faulty redirects and smartphone-only errors.

Faulty redirects happen when websites feature two URLS — one for desktop users and one for smartphone users — and the desktop page redirects a smartphone user to an incorrect page. Sure, the page is smartphone-optimized, but users are redirected to the wrong page. This tends to happen when every page selection takes smartphone users back to the homepage, preventing them from getting to the information they need from the internal pages of the website.

Smartphone-only errors happen when users can access a website from a desktop computer but receive an error page when they try to access the same site via smartphone. Google recommends testing your website’s pages on all available mobile devices to ensure that users don’t encounter errors instead of the content they want.

Other Configuration Mistakes

Google has compiled a list of common configuration mistakes for smartphone-optimized websites and also provides tips for building mobile-optimized websites. Companies who want their websites to have an impact in mobile search can also benefit from partnering with a web development company with experience in mobile phone website design.

Is Your Website Optimized for Search?

Bigfin.com LLC is an industry leader in search engine optimization, web design, and social media. Looking for online marketing or web development services? Contact us online or by phone at 425-822-8200.

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