Google made a major update to its mobile search algorithm that will change the order in which websites are ranked when users search for something from their phone or tablet. No mobile version - no rankings.

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+61 3 9696 7473 www.theonlinecircle.com in partnership with Hubspot
Google Algorithm Mobile Changes:
Here's What You Need to Know
Starting on Tuesday April 21, 2015, Google will be implementing a considerable
adjustment to the way it ranks websites.
This change is greater than any other Google has undertaken in terms of the degree of
impact on search results. The change comes down to one very important criteria:
Are your website, landing pages, and blog fully optimised for
mobile and tablet devices?
Google announced the change on its Webmaster Central Blog in February 2014 and has
undertaken a methodical approach ever since then, preparing marketers and website
owners to predict how the change may affect their site and search traffic.
Their official statement:
"Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a
ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages
worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.
Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search
results that are optimized for their devices."
Let’s be very clear: If your site isn't 100% optimised for mobile devices, you will see a hit
to your ranking on mobile searches and the impact of this for you will be lost traffic.
The Interweb, being creative, are calling this change "Mobilegeddon."
As a business you might be asking - What do I do next?
1. Test Your Website
Google has provided a free tool for website owners and administrators to tell them
exactly what is needed to respond to the new mobile search algorithm. This test will
analyse a URL and report if the page has a mobile-friendly design.
Access Google Mobile Design test -
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
When you run your site on the tool, you'll get an assessment of whether your mobile
rank will suffer as a result of the April 21st change. If your website is fully optimised for
mobile, you'll get a success message like this one:

2. www.theonlinecircle.com
+61 3 9696 7473 www.theonlinecircle.com in partnership with Hubspot
You will get a visual of how the Googlebot "sees" your website. If your website, landing
pages or blog are not ready for the mobile update, you'll get a message that looks like
this:
Along with the failure message, you'll get a few pointed bullets on the reasons
your digital presence failed the test. In the example above, you can see the mobile
viewport is not set, the links are too close together, and the text is too small to easily
read on a mobile device.
While this may seem like you'll need to do a complete redesign or build to fix each error,
moving to a mobile optimised content management system, blog, or landing page tool
will likely fix most of them.

3. www.theonlinecircle.com
+61 3 9696 7473 www.theonlinecircle.com in partnership with Hubspot
2 - Choose Your Mobile Optimisation Approach
If your website or landing page isn't optimised for mobile, it's vital you make some
changes in light of the new Google algorithm. Even the best landing page and websites
in the world will see drastically diminishing returns after April 21 if they’re not optimised
for mobile.
To remedy the situation you have options. Google recognises three different
configurations as "mobile friendly." You can move your content to any of the following
set-ups and be protected from the change.
2.1) Responsive Design - Google’s #1 recommended execution. The reason
responsive design is so advantageous is that it doesn't create two copies of the
same site. Prospects, consumers, and visitors only have one URL to go to and the
website will adjust as they move from phone to tablet to desktop and beyond.
Responsive Design is Online Circle Digital's preferred option. Many the times we can
"retrofit" Responsive Design, adapting your current website into a Responsive version.
2.2) Dynamic Serving. Like responsive design, a dynamic serving approach keeps
the same URL -- but this time, the HTML actually changes. Dynamic serving
uses user-agents to "sniff" out what kind of device the viewer is using and then
dynamically serves up the appropriate view.
Google notes that this user-agent detection can be an error-prone technique, but it is an
option that passes the Google mobile-optimisation test.
2.3) Mobile Website. Creating a separate mobile website. This was one of the
early solutions for mobile optimisation, and it still meetsGoogle's
requirements. This is how it works:when a new user arrives at a website,
this configuration tries to detect the users’ device, then redirects to the
appropriate website (a totally separate url) using a redirection. This method isn't
recommended compared to responsive design is it requires website owners to
maintain -- and Google to crawl -- two versions. In addition, it can be a bad
experience for a users, prospect or customer who accidentally clicks on the
mobile link, possibly shared through social or email, while on a desktop
computer.
3 - Why is Responsive Design the Best Choice?
Website visitors like it.
From a visitor's standpoint the Experience with your website is smooth. This design
uses the same URL (address) and the same content. It just adapts and gets re-
proportioned based on the viewer. That means if one of your visitors emails a link from
their phone and then their friends open it on their desktop they will each have a good
personal experience.

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+61 3 9696 7473 www.theonlinecircle.com in partnership with Hubspot
Google likes it.
From Google's standpoint it saves resources when Googlebot crawls websites. Rather
than crawling multiple sites, the Googlebot can go to one place which increases
efficiency and helps Google index more content. It also helps Google's algorithms more
accurately assign indexing properties to a piece of content without needing to check
two places.
Marketers and website owners like it. A responsive site requires less time and budget
to maintain.
Fast
With less redirections the website is faster = more conversions.
When Online Circle Digital develops solutions we consider UX (User Experience), Design
and suitable technology.
For example, for our clients that are seeking Lead Generation from their websites as a
business outcome we apply HubSpot Marketing Automation that uses native responsive
design.
4- I'm not ready for a redesign. Do I have to do this now?
You may not need to fully redesign and change the whole content now to comply with
Google's requirements for mobile-friendly sites.
However you do need to do is to move your existing site, blog or landing pages to a
mobile friendly platform or template or retrofit your site.
If you do nothing it will impact your business.
Estimates of mobile search volume vary by industry, but one thing researchers have
seen is that companies with mobile-optimized sites triple their chances of increasing
mobile conversation rate to 5% or above.
So, every day you take no action will be a day with less traffic to your site and less leads,
sales, or impressions from your site.
5- Is my site permanently penalised if I don't optimise for mobile now?
No -- you can rebuild search credit after the fact. It will be harder and more expensive,
but possible. In other words, any delay will impact the final investment needed to get
your site to a good position for mobile search.
Final Thoughts
Despite the tendency to turn any Google Algorithm change into an impending zombie
apocalypse, this change is actually a very good one for Google users and marketers
alike. Modernising your website to be optimised for all the ways people shop and buy
better meets the needs of prospective customers, reduces friction on your website, and
will ultimately lead to more conversions and revenue for your company. There's a lot to
like about that.