Google changes could affect your web hits

South West SEO expert Martin McIver is warning businesses across Devon that unless they make their websites mobile friendly by 21 April, they could find themselves freefalling in Google’s search rankings.

The stark warning follows announcements from Google that it will change the way it ranks websites to favour those that are mobile friendly from 21 April.

For businesses reliant on tourism and hospitality in particular, this change could spell a dramatic fall in trade as tourists use mobile technology more than any other group to search for things to do, places to visit, and places to eat and drink.

Those businesses that fail to update their websites could see a dramatic fall in custom, while those that go mobile friendly could steal a march on their competitors. McIver believes that many hundreds of businesses in Exeter and Devon, ranging from pubs to tourism attractions, could fall foul of the change, and so he has set up a free compatibility check and a free advice service to assist local businesses worried about their sites.

Commenting on Google’s new algorithm McIver said: “Over recent years there has been a huge swing toward the use of mobile technology for web searches. Today 60% of us regularly use our mobile phones to search online. This figure increases dramatically when we’re on holiday; according to Google 95% of smartphone users use their mobile device to search for local information. Google has recognised this, and so they are introducing a new way to rank that will favour those sites that are mobile friendly.

“Those businesses that fail to prepare for this change, no matter how well they currently perform in searches, could face a very nasty shock, and anyone with a website that is more than three years old should be particularly concerned.”

To help businesses find out if their site is mobile friendly McIver has set up a free compliance test at http://www.martinmciver.co.uk/mobile-check/

Commenting on the test McIver said, “Within seconds you can find out if your website is compliant. What you want to see is a green sentence saying ‘Awesome! This page is mobile friendly’. If you see this your job is done.

“If your site fails compliance all is not lost. Some sites will have individual pages that are not mobile friendly and that can be rectified. Others may find that their website needs a complete revamp. Either way this simple check will help to identify issues that we can then help businesses to quickly address, whether that‘s before 21 April or after.”

Martin McIver specialises in website development, SEO, content generation, internet marketing and analytic reporting. McIver is offering free advice to local business owners worried about their website’s mobile compatibility, and can be contacted by calling 07592 894103.