Isn’t your website mobile friendly yet? If not, it’s high time to make it responsive

by Guna Nadar - 3/16/2015 5080 Views

Responsive web designing tips and its impact on Google's 21st April updates

Website responsiveness has been the key focus for every designer. With the use of mobile devices for web searches increasing rapidly, the implications of responsive web design has been rising. However, there are many businesses that haven’t been able to / haven’t cared to invest in a responsive web design for their website. If you are amongst these, it’s high time that you invest in responsiveness to stay in this competitive market.

Why so?

Google, the search engine giant is the most used search engine globally. As of December 2014, Google held 88.2% share of search engine usage. Another element that makes Google the leader is the Android OS for mobile devices. Android, developed by Google also holds 46.87% of the market share and tops the list of OS usage. Consequently, you just cannot escape conforming to Google optimization policies.

Google has been working on mobile optimization for a long time now. But now it’s officially announced that after April 21^st, 2015, any website that does not conform to responsive optimization will have to pay the price in terms of SERPs. The April 21^st update will impact search results like never before and websites that are no more mobile friendly, will see a drastic drop in the SERP ranking.

Back in November 2014, Google was already attaching a mobile-friendly label to each search result. The websites that were not responsive enough were warned through webmaster tools for future optimization. But going further with the 21^st April update, it’s a matter of “now or never”.

Advantages of Mobile Responsiveness

The world runs on mobile today. According to a report by eMarketer, 2015 will see a huge rise in the use of tablets and smartphones over the traditional laptops and desktops. The ROI for marketers on mobile search is improving. Due to the increasing mobile usage, advertising revenues for Facebook (mobile ads) increased massively by more than $962 million during the first quarters of 2013 and 2014. On the other hand, revenues generated from desktop sites came up to only about $57 million. The implications are not just limited to Facebook but also to any business looking to earn revenue from its online products and services.

Truly, the time has come when website owners need to seriously consider the integration of mobile friendly versions of business critical assets inclusive of data, applications, communications, sales materials, demos, customer service and the website itself. Responsiveness is the key to make the most out of this golden opportunity / shift in consumer behavior. It’s not just about conforming to Google search policies but also to serve a market that is online 24x7 and not just during the business hours.

Regardless of whether your business focuses on business management, sales, marketing, social media, software development, advertising, SEO, or customer relationship management, mobile devices have become the preferred platform for communication and business. Also responsive designing is not a big investment and will not consume a lot of time for experienced designers. A few extra lines of code and your web interface will become responsive to the user’s device.

Why is Google so eager?

Over the past couple of years Google has been encouraging webmasters to lay emphasis on mobile friendliness by boosting websites with higher ranks that have been optimized. They also made a significant impact by helping webmasters maximize their mobile experience by releasing a set of best practices and guidelines for optimization. A set of free tools also helps webmasters identify elements of their website that need optimization for a better view on mobile devices.

The aim of Google is to provide a better search result for its end users. While Google is already leading the search engine usage statistics, it seeks to hold on to the position and grow further. The cApril 21^st update will be relevant aross all languages globally, clearly indicating that this change would bring in wider traffic to its search engine.

For Google, more traffic will only mean more revenue through its advertising. It’s a simple give and take policy. Therefore, the increase in the use of Android devices plays a significant role to contribute to its success. Be responsible and invest in responsiveness today because after 21^st April 2015, there will be no looking back.

Category :

SEO News

Tags :

Mobile Friendly Website, Responsive Web Design, Go

About Guna Nadar

Brief Info about Guna Nadar +

I mostly write technical aspects and not much into creative writing. For the past decade I worked along with top notch SEO & Internet Marketing professionals which naturally lured me into the world of Search Engines. When I am not writing I read from comics to philosophy.Antiques, Fishing, hunting are my passions. Currently I am working on Google Penalty protection and .... more info about the author