From April 21st 2015, Google will be introducing two important changes to their search algorithm to give the user a better experience on mobile. This comes with the increasing use of mobile devices for search.
1. More mobile friendly website in search results
Google will be expanding their use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. Displaying mobile friendly sites higher on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), making it easier for users to find relevant, high quality content that is optimised for their devices.
In November we discussed how Google added a mobile-friendly search label to its mobile search results, which suggested they may start to include mobile sites as part of their search rankings and here we go. If you are unsure how user friendly your pages are for mobile user there is a Mobile friendly test, which will analyse a URL and report on the design.
2. More relevant app content in search results
Google have also announced they will begin to use information from indexed apps as a factor in ranking for signed in users who have the app installed. This means it will only be a factor for Android users and suggests they may begin to see content more relevant to the apps they have installed when searching.
For the past five or so years digital marketers have been saying “it is the year of the mobile”, so it was no surprise when it appeared in our top trends for 2015. However, this recent announcement from Google really shows the importance.
If you are unsure how this will affect you or would like some support on how to optimise your site for mobile, get in touch. We also have a guide to help you further improve SEO on your site.
