As web traffic by mobile devices has surpassed desktop in 2014, a site mobile experience has been an increasingly crucial factor of SEO. A few days ago Google announced a new major algorithm update for next May. The focus once again will be mobile, and even if the search algorithm remains Google’s secret formula, there are a few things that can be done to make sure your site is ready and it won’t be loosing its ranking.
- Make sure you have a responsive website or a mobile version of the site, if in 2016 you don’t have it yet, you are going to be out of sight pretty soon (if you aren’t already)
- Check the site’s mobile-friendliness with this handy tool
- Get AMP. Just last February Google has started highlighting Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in its mobile search results. AMP is an open source initiative promoted by Google and aimed at creating mobile optimized content that can load quickly on any device. It is very similar to Facebook’s Instant Article experience that optimizes the content from a publisher to be read within the Facebook app. If your site is on WordPress, like 25% of the sites on the web (!), you are in luck because Automaticc (WP parent’s company) has already published a very handy plugin to support AMP. How does AMP work? It basically streamlines the page html limiting tags, eliminating most javascript (but analytics, Adsense and other major advertising networks are safe) and relying heavily on cache, the results are better readability and higher speed on mobile devices.
So if you would like your site to remain visible on today’s web make mobile SEO your priority.
Update on May 23, 2016
Just last week Google has announced an update to its Search Console Analytics “that lets you drill down to look at how your AMP pages are doing in Search.” The new feature can filter queries based on their appearance (AMP or not) therefore it allows to compare performance and development over time of AMP pages in search.
