Despite more people than ever browsing the web on mobile devices, a large number of websites are not mobile-friendly. Issues range from the text being too small to read, content being cut off or in extreme cases, the website not loading at all. When a visitor is provided with a less than optimal browsing experience, their desire to convert diminishes and once their tolerance is exceeded, they will leave the site altogether, maybe never returning.
More importantly in April 2015, Google changed the way they show search results on mobile devices. Sites deemed ‘Mobile-Friendly’, are given preference in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) with un-optimised sites falling down the rankings. This means that if your website is not Mobile-Friendly, it will be outranked by sites that are – even if their content is not optimised.
Google's 'Mobile-Friendly' Focus
A mobile-friendly site should present a website’s content to the visitor in a clean and concise manner. Ideally, this content is the same as the desktop version with structure changes (such as resized images and larger font size) to enhance readability.
Web pages should load quickly and this is especially true for mobile. Research shows that faster loading sites have a lower bounce rate and a higher conversion rate.
Google wants its users to get the best experience and is tackling the issue of mobile sites head-on. Some solutions, such as giving preference to Mobile-Friendly websites in search results have already been implemented, so don’t be surprised if you see sites that aren’t mobile-friendly fall down the rankings. Other initiatives such as the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project will launch in early 2016 which will see even more mobile sites outclass their un-optimised counterparts.
Don't let competitors outrank you
A research study conducted by Google and AnswerLab found that “Mobile users are very goal-oriented. They expect to be able to get what they need, immediately, and on their own terms.” Essentially, mobile users need clear and obvious call-to-actions if you want them to convert.
The solution to all of this is simple - make sure your site is mobile-friendly!
If you’re looking for someone to build a Mobile-Friendly website, or would like an expert opinion on how your existing website is affected by the issues discussed in this article, Contact Moirae Creative Agency today.