For the First Time Ever, Mobile Searches Beat Desktop Searches

After many years of speculation about the survival of desktop search, Google has released the stats for last month's search results and mobile has taken over desktop.

That's right, all the rumblings about mobile search's power are coming true. Smartphones and tablets count towards the "mobile" searches, while desktop PCs and laptops count towards desktop searches. Of the mobile searches, smartphones carried more than half the weight.

This puts a new challenge on digital marketing and mobile marketing teams as it puts the livelihood of the purchase funnel in jeopardy. Instead, what we see happening are "micro-moments", dubbed by Jerry Dischler (VP
of product management at Google), which requires marketers to be present at all times.

Google has built a new ad format so that the mobile ads are more prominent in mobile search results; this is great for advertisers since it cuts down on the amount of time that people have to scroll through results, reducing frustration and increasing conversion.

Advertisers can also have the great ability to buy mobile ads with Google on-the-fly since approximately 15 percent of searches are brand new each day.

This news is not so shocking after Google's April 21st deadline for sites to be mobile-friendly or be penalized on mobile search rankings. The push to accommodate smartphones and tablets is in full-force for Google, so brands better catch on real quick.

If you are concerned about your SEO, digital marketing, or site's mobile-friendly status, then contact Integraphix, a Chicago SEO company. 

Today's the Day! Google's Mobile-Friendly Requirement Goes into Effect

The day is upon us. The time is nigh! Is your site ready to go? 

Maybe your site is almost ready to go because you have a completely new website design or just a mobile-friendly website version of your current site being created but it was started a bit late. That is fine, you shouldn't be affected too much.

Maybe you were one of the few that was 100 percent prepared and got a mobile-friendly version of your site out well before today. Kudos to you!

Or, maybe you were one of the people who found out way too late and now you are stuck with a site that is not mobile-friendly and nothing in the works. Well, your mobile rankings will be hit. Of course, it is not too late to salvage your mobile search rankings! Email Integraphix, a Chicago SEO agency with a strong web design team and see how we can help your site become mobile-friendly, and quickly!

Is Your Site Ready for April 21st? Hint: It's About Google

Just six days from now, Google's mandate for sites to be mobile-friendly or "be square" will go into effect. This SEO update has gone with a different process than previous updates since this update came with an official warning.

Google made the announcement in March saying, "Starting April 21st, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal…" As of now, it seems that site rankings will be hit with searches on mobile devices, it is yet to be seen if rankings will be hit on desktop/laptop searches.

The change comes as a result of a major uptick in mobile searches (searche
s done on tablets and smartphones). Sites that are not mobile-friendly are a pain to navigate on those devices and so Google wants to reward the sites that have taken the initiative to be mobile-friendly; on that same not, Google is punishing the sites that are making it difficult for mobile-searchers to view the web.

A major thing to note is that sites must pass a mobile-friendly test, proctored by Google search crawlers. Also, the friendliness is determined at the page level, not site-wide. 

Google has been telling web designers and developers to make their sites mobile-responsive for years now but it was more of a suggestion, now, Google is putting its foot down. Its mighty, mighty foot.

If your site is not mobile-friendly, please email Integraphix- a Chicago SEO company and Chicago web design business.