Last
year, Google updated its algorithm to include mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. Some companies and reporters dubbed the move “mobilegeddon,” given the amount of work needed to
revamp sites to return good results within the new search parameters.
This year, the search giant will be releasing an update to its mobile search results in May. It will weight
mobile-friendliness more heavily, ostensibly to help users find pages that are easier to read on their devices.
Google has branched into mobile on a number of different levels, including the
Android OS and the Nexus smartphone. It became a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) with Project Fi and accelerated mobile pages (AMP) — an answer to Facebook’s instant articles.
The original mobilegeddon was quickly forgotten after implementation, and it only applied to individual Web pages.
Google started labeling sites “mobile-friendly” in 2014. The
basic parameters of mobile-friendliness include not using flash, easily tappable links, being able to read text without zooming, and being able to read horizontally or vertically.
By altering
the algorithm, Google can make its search results more helpful for users, but it can also force businesses to shift into mobile.