Is your site optimized for mobile browsing? It should be. The Seaside Visitors Bureau is constantly tracking trends in the hospitality industry, and we’ve been watching a growing incline in the number of travelers using their mobile devices to research and plan their vacations, buy tickets for area attractions, and book their hotels.
In response to this growing trend, Google has implemented a major algorithm change to their search engine that has made a big impact on mobile phone usage. What does this mean to businesses here in Seaside? Many businesses rely heavily on Google to send traffic to their websites. Now, all Google searches that are done with a mobile phone will use the new algorithm to generate results. Sites that don’t adjust for smaller screens, will likely see a drop in the search rankings.
Google is a giant in the search engine world, making up about 2/3 of all internet searches, and an estimated half of all Google searches are now done on a mobile phone. Additionally, people browsing with a mobile phone tend to convert to sales at a rate of more than 150 percent over sites that are not optimized for mobile devices.
Use this testing tool from Google to run a Mobile-Friendly Test on your website. If you just can’t update your site right now, there is something you can do to make sure your business gets seen. Take advantage of the free business listing for Google using the Google My Business tool. Businesses who submit their information, will show up on the upper right side of the search results page.
While it’s certainly important to make sure your website keeps up with current trends, not all “mobile-unfriendly” sites will see a drastic dip in traffic. Google’s algorithm uses other criteria, too. The goal here is to provide users with quality, relevant content. So, make sure your site offers original, trustworthy and interesting content, free from spelling and factual errors.
