By Warren Horak

How to Become Google Mobile Friendly and Avoid the Google Axe

This next Google axe is going to be far worse than Panda and Penguin updates that closed many businesses and changed the search world forever.

Many businesses websites who were once attracting tons of traffic and business by appearing on the front page of Google searches, disappeared into oblivion and lost millions in revenue overnight.

Google is now warning us of the next update and they are targeting ALL non mobile friendly websites. They simply say it will be a “significant impact” 

See the Google Mobile Friendly warning blog article below

“More mobile-friendly websites in search results

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. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.

If you haven’t received an email via your web-master yet it doesn’t mean you are safe.

Find out how to test your website and capitalise on this Google update.

I saw the first Google Axe in 2012

In 2012 and 2013 I watched as two businesses closed down all because of those two Google algorithm updates. Both businesses relied heavily on the free organic traffic coming from Google searches for their keywords.

After these updates their traffic disappeared. All because Google’s algorithm update called Panda and Penguin was structured to avoid showing much of what these two businesses were doing with their website. In simple terms their website did not fit in to Google’s specs.

These businesses were not really warned and didn’t even know they breaking some Google’s internal rules, they were just shut down. The website just disappeared off the map and that was the end of their fantastic traffic.

It is important to understand that Google’s main focus is to offer their searchers the best search experience on the internet. This is why they are updating the algorithm again.

Do not take Google’s warning lightly, if they say it will have a significant impact then it will be a significant impact.

Make sure you on the right side of significant.

What happens if I don’t update my website?

Well according to Google this update will have a “significant impact” on your website and directly affect your business if you are getting traffic from Google or want to get traffic from Google.

Forbes is saying it will be a significant ranking factor.

Imagine loosing 50% of your traffic overnight

No matter how much traffic you are currently attracting through Google search, if Google is not happy with each and every page on your website then your website will be listed by Google as non mobile friendly.

Just work that out, it is like loosing 50% of all the sales you are generating through Google.

How much will that cost you and will you be able to get it back?

In 2014 more than 50% of all searches done on the internet were on mobile devices. This is why Google has taken such drastic steps, as they want to give their users the best experience possible.

So instead of sending visitors to websites that are not mobile friendly and having frustrated clients, Google has decided to penalise all websites who give bad user experience. The penalty is that they wont show your website in the search results any more.

3 business reasons for being Google Mobile friendly

This update is truly is a double edged sword.

In a way this is a great thing. Google could be doing us all a great favour, or at least those who are service orientated. Once this update is activated users will be happy as they will only find Mobile friendly sites when they search from their tablet or phone.

1. Give a professional first impression

First impressions last and you only got one chance to leave a first impression. If your visitors find your site via their mobile device and find it very difficult to navigate, then they will bounce off your site and never come back.
There is a bounce rate of up to 90% for non mobile friendly websites. The obvious choice for every professional business is simply to upgrade to a mobile friendly website design.

2. It will get rid of some of your competition

Finally some good news. Much of your competition will not even here from their IT guy and even if they do they won’t take any action. This means here today and gone tomorrow – you might even replace them on Google’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page) which means more traffic on your website and more business for you.

3. Increase your sales

More traffic from Google – obviously if you are SEO ( Search Engine Optimised) and one of only a handful of websites that is now mobile friendly then you will increase your sales as you are getting more traffic and giving a great first impression.
Impressed visitors who stay on your site will have more time to read and then contact you and even buy from you.

Click here to let me help you get your website Google mobile friendly and turn your website into a Sales Machine

See info graphic below Click image to enlarge

See the impact on your business

Have you been told by your IT guy about the Google Update?

Google has sent our millions of warnings across the globe. They have sent an email warning to and every webmaster whose website is not mobile friendly. By the way, a web master is the IT guys or our website service provider who manages your site.

This is an example of a Google Mobile Friendly warning email that Google would of sent to your IT guy if your site is not Mobile friendly

If you not sure you can check your site here to see if it is Google Mobile Friendly

If your site fails the Google Mobile Friendly test, then ask your self why didn’t my IT guy inform me? As this is critical for your business.

Stay tuned as I do cover the solution at the end of the article.

What happens if have missed the deadline?

Quite simply you will feel significant affect on your search traffic coming from mobile devices as this is what Google has said will happen.

If your website is not passing Google’s Mobile Friendly test then, you could suffer a worse slap the penguin and Panda together.

It is not too late, as Google is not trying to penalise you forever. They are only trying to upgrade the overall user experience by penalising non mobile friendly websites. Why would they want to irritate their users by sending them to non friendly websites.
Have you ever tried to use a non mobile friendly website on your phone?

There is no guarantee how quickly your site will be able to recover your position in the Google rankings if you upgrade now but at least you will not be penalised any more.

If you are reading this after the 21 April 2015 then there is a way to solve your problem

How to get your website Google Mobile Friendly

1. Go beyond responsive

Just because your website is responsive and your IT guys says it is mobile friendly does not mean its Google mobile friendly.

2. Check every page on your site on Google’s tester

Don’t trust someone who says it is mobile friendly, you can do the test yourself now. Take the test now and test at least five or six or more of your top pages. Click the button below to take the Google mobile friendly test.

Find out what Google says about what how to make your website mobile friendly here.

You also need to login into your Google web-master account and see the Google report and information on your website.

3. Upgrade to a Mobile friendly WordPress theme that is guaranteed as Google Mobile Friendly

I am not talking about getting a website designer to redesign your entire website. I am talking about installing a proper mobile friendly theme that has been tested on the Google Mobile Friendly tester.

You can try some WordPress Google mobile friendly themes that have already been tested at Thrivethemes.com . They have  some really great themes and tools to build mobile friendly high conversion websites.

When choosing a theme design, make sure you have long term support.

Before deciding read the comments in the support forums to see what users are saying.
You need to have a theme that is updated continually with all of WordPress updates to make sure you stay ahead of the security risks etc and Google updates.

If something goes wrong with your theme who will you contact?

This is why I don’t buy designs that are designed by just one designer, but themes that are well supported and that can be edited and tailored for my needs.
If it is a design from a one-man-show, then what is your recourse in two years when they have moved on?

Get a proper theme that has been designed by a professional designers and marketers.
Please remember to test the theme here before you buy it.

If Google does not approve it then there is no point, as Google controls lions share of the search traffic globally.

4. Do 5 simple things to make your website faster

It is well known fact that Google penalises slow loading pages and sites. Once again they know their customers hate slow sites so why would they want to send people to terribly slow sites.

This is another reason to upgrade your site.

You can check the speed of your each page on your websites for free on Pingdom.com before and after the upgrade to see if speed upgrade really worked.

1. Optimise your image sizes

If your images are too big then that will really slow your site down. No image on your website should be larger than 100 kilobytes

2. Make sure your theme is a fast theme

This means it has been programmed with an eye on speed that is set into the design specification. You can also test your theme here before you buy it.

3. Remove unnecessary plugins on your site

I am mainly talking about word press plugins here. make sure you uninstall plugins your don’t really need or use.

4. Apply lazy loading to your comments

This means your comments only load when the user gets to that section of your blog this makes your page load faster.

5. Website hosting

Website hosting can have a major impact on your site speed as well. Make sure you have a reliable website host with 24/7 service. So you can contact them if something goes wrong and your site goes down at a critical time.

My suggestion is take advantage of this update and move forward as opposed to going backwards.

If this all sounds too technical for you the click the button below.

Click here to let me help you get your website Google mobile friendly

Over to you, have you received a Google warning yet?