• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, April 9, 2015

On or about April 21, Google will flip a switch and unleash "mobilgeddon" upon the world. In English, that means the search giant will begin penalizing Web sites that do not serve a mobile-friendly version. Google says the change in rankings for sites that are not mobile-friendly will be significant.

So how do the Web sites of New York ad agencies stack up? According to a study conducted by digital marketing firm Didit, 73% of New York ad agencies currently serve what Google defines as a mobile-friendly site, leaving 27% that do not. To determine these percentages, Didit used Google's Mobile Friendly Test page inputting 104 New York ad agencies.

The most common errors cited by the test were links spaced too closely together for easy mobile clicking, "mobile viewports" incorrectly set causing site to render in less than 100 percent of allotted mobile space, text too small to be readable on a mobile site, content too wide for a mobile screen and blocked resources needed by Google to correctly render page.

So which New York agencies failed the test? Anomaly, Area 17, Atmosphere Proximity, Barker DZP, Berlin Cameron United, Bolds Creative, Campfire, Core Industries, Dancing Diablo, DDB NY, Dedica Group, Dentsu America, EngineThree, Fearless Company, Generation, Gotham, Jugular, McCann, Merkley & Partners, Mother, Publicis, Red Antler, Rosetta, SS+K, Steak, Story Worldwide, The Concept Farm and UniWorld Group.

Failing this test does not mean an agency’s site cannot be viewed on a mobile device. It simply means that the site is not optimized to serve a mobile version that meets Google's requirements. The fixes necessary are not difficult, especially since most agencies are quite adept at getting their ducks in a row when it comes to an online presence these days. It's just a matter of making it a priority.

And that's all I'm really trying to do here. Just letting those that need to know, know. You’re welcome .