The business world was sent into a frenzy a few weeks ago when Google finally announced plans to change the way the search engine works with mobile devices it’s only taken them 6 year since they first announced blended mobile ranking, but finally the update is here!

The potential impact of the update was huge for companies and their websites, with 40 per cent of websites failing to meet Goggle’s criteria for optimal user experience when viewed on a phone or tablet; hence it being dubbed ‘mobilegeddon’, but it seems its effect wasn’t quite as catastrophic as its name.  

When Google first announced plans of the update they stated that it would be more significant than the recent Panda or Penguin updates, which acted as a filter to Google searches, but the results just aren’t in their favour.

However they did announce that there was a 4.7 per cent increase of mobile friendly sites in March and April, proving the fear of ‘mobilegeddon’ scared companies into launching a mobile friendly website. The numbers might seem low but it’s not when you consider the number of inactive websites, and the number of those which are already optimised for mobile.

Just because the update was timid compared to what we were expecting, doesn’t mean businesses should dismiss the idea of mobile friendly content. There’s still the potential for businesses that aren’t mobile friendly to get lost in search traffic, and to reduce in Google rankings.

Although mobile ranking and desktop ranking have never been more different, click through rates and site popularity are all taken into account, meaning businesses which aren’t capturing mobile traffic will see a decrease in rankings on their desktop searches too.

Google has shown no signs of stopping and it’s likely the updates will keep on coming- but remember it’s your responsibility to keep your business and website moving with the digital times.

Businesses can’t expect too much from the digital world, a little effort is needed from your end too, so keep improving your site and if it’s not mobile friendly – make it happen.