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RGV Websites – Are You Ready for April 21st?
Prepare for Web Sites BE Gone!
There has been talk that Google will perform an update to their algorithms and will have a bigger effect than Panda or Penguin which were very big updates that took down many sites from their top results down to the never-lands where your customers and prospects will not see you.
There has been an announcement that Google will target non-mobile friendly websites and it’s expected to roll out on April 21st, are you ready?
Now, for information purposes only, we do not know what will happen, but mobile and responsive will be a ranking factor…
Yes, Google has announced they will start using responsive and mobile sites as a ranking factor: Now from the writings and guidelines of Google itself, if you look at the #1 tip:
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.
So is your RGV Website Mobile Ready?
Not sure…find out by clicking here: Mobile Site Friendly to see if you are not going to be affected. Because when Google changes their algorithms, this may affect your site’s ranking and give your competitors an advantage and an edge over your site.
Fortunately, there are things and steps you can take right now, and these steps should be taken into considerations. Because, Google does want to help you out, but only if you follow some guidelines…
The good news is that you can get your website design to be responsive by two ways…
When webmasters look into creating mobile friendly websites in the RGV, two things will happen.
- Create a mobile website design – for example, a .mobi domain and then when someone visits your site from a mobile device, it will redirect it to the site. It’s a user-agent that does the thing for you.
- Or Having a Responsive Website for your local business so it can change for both desktop and mobile devices across the web, for any user…
In either case, does it matter? Matt Cutts discusses it here:
First things first…has your web designer registered you to the Google Web Master Tools?
You don’t have to be expert, but you have to be there, to let them know. There is a specific code that you place in your website, and this should be done for you, I do it for all my customers here at Harlingen Web Designs…
Here is a quick video that explains the Google Web Master Tools…
Customers of Harlingen Web Designs Have this Already No More Work is Needed!
But if you are not a customer, get with your website developer and have them make the necessary changes. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is important for your website, but it has to be handled correctly, so your website will be seen in the search engines correctly, so that customers and prospects can find you.
Have any questions or comments about the update, by all means, ask below…
Hello Carlos
Good introductory post on the options available to those that have yet to make their sites mobile friendly. I personally could not care less what Google does but I do care about what my visitors want and so its important that people look at their stats to determine just how many people are visiting via mobile devices and take action to make their visit as smooth as possible.
igor Griffiths
That’s a great way to look at it Igor, caring about the visitors and customers looking at your site, to give them a better experience, depending on which devices they use when they get to your site. Thanks for the great input…
Carlos
Hey Carlos,
I agree with Igor….there is much to be said when you are able to get feed back from your clients and site visitors rather than just relying on what google sees on your site. Rankings come and go, but people can offer you lifetime value. Good to see your giving the offline marketing a go – Cheers
Hey there Col,
Information should be given to make clients aware of changes, and then extra information so that they can take action if they want. It’s really not necessary, I agree, but it’s important I feel. When people work on their sites, although it should be customer driven, information should be provided, because what is not important to some is for others. And also, providing a sort of a format, for my clients, of what can be done. What I mean here is that in the training area, I talk about how I go about publishing posts for people and search engines together. Thanks for your comment Col.
Cheers!
From the blogroll it looks like there were over 350 of us that actually made it this far. I am looking forward to seeing how we progress over the next 3 weeks, especially the part that wants us to write a good post every day. And as for doing a video? still it looks like you are off to a good start here.
Simon
Thank you Simon for your comment. I must admit though, I had this up already, and I saw the blogroll, so of course I had to post my main site, which is this one.
So yes, the video was alreay there, along with some others around this site. Even on the homepage and the about us page. I have been busy working on a project, and a customer site right now, so things tend to slow down at some other parts of my business when that happens.
But we shall see how I do on my other site, which I had published a year ago, for practice purposes purposes, only, and provided a video and a detailed report on it, and why I was doing it. But this is my main site, so of course, it was the one that had to be posted there.
Again, thanks Simon,
Carlos
Great post Carlos
Responsive design is critical these days with so many visitors accessing from all different devices. We want are visitors to have the best experience possible – Non-responsive sites hinder that objective.
~Kevin
Thank you Kevin,
As many more people use their phones, html is getting harder and harder to interact with, unless they have a .mobi redirection. It’s especially important to redirect a person to a friendly responsive site that the user can interact with.
Hi Carlos,
Responsive web design is definitely the way to go. The number of people that go online with mobile devices is on the rise and those that don’t have mobile friendly websites should consider making the change toward mobile design. Thanks for the great info.
Hello Carlos! Wow, you have compiled a world of information right here on your site. People could go searching all over for it but you have conveniently provided it in one location for free! Great job and great service to your customers and potential customers.
Hi Carlos,
wow! I will be coming back!!! your content made me stay on your site digging deeper into all web design and what it all goes along with… Thank you for making it clear for your readers!
Thanks Desana for your comment,
Let’s work on your avitar, and get your pretty face in front of everyone, si? And you to Christopher…let’s create avatars and favicons…
What do you say?
Great and informative post. Check my own web site, it is already mobile friendly. And best of luck with the QSC 3.0 challenge.
I was there Ozer, and yep, you’re on the right track. Your site is mobile friendly, and you are taking actioin. Great Job!
Carlos
Hey Carlos,
Great info, and without a doubt, now days your site especially if you’re building it new or having a redesign, it must be mobile friendly and mobile ready! I think Responsive Website design is the best option?
Art
Yes, the Responsvie Design I feel is the best option. But many people like their site the way it is, so it’s important to use a redirect for the .mobi version for the mobile audience.
Carlos
Hi, its Steven here from QSC,
Great post! Since mobile has already become an inevitable part of our lives, it’s really a plus if our websites are accessible on these small gadgets.
Yes Steven, very true. Everyone and their mamas are on mobile gadgets. Well, unfortunately not me, not so much. I use it when I am away from my computer, which is not so much. But just because I do not, I do not allow my preferences to do things for me, it’s for the audience, and business owners should think that way as well.
Carlos
Hey Carlos! I have enjoyed reading your comments on other people’s blogs and I have enjoyed looking through your site as well. I am also on the quick start challenge and it has been fun to get to meet new people and share with the group.
I wish you well and I hope we can keep in touch once the challenge is over!
Thanks Craig,
I just saw your introduction and your website, looks great. I have an idea, well because of your site, and would like to share it with you…perhaps more…What do you think?
Hi Carlos
Excellent blog with valuable information about the importance of making your website mobile friendly for anyone looking to improve their rankings. Good videos certainly make it very easy to take the information on board rather than reading loads of text. Really enjoyed reading your post and watching your videos – every success.
Colin
Thank you Colin,
And you are correct, video not only helps the vistor, but your site as well, as far as search engines are concerned. Plus utitlizing YouTube, that’s an extra benefit when it ranks on its own on the search engines itself.
Just like igor Griffiths pointed out it really does not matter what google wants nowadays because we as marketers can syphon traffic from any traffic site and I guess that is what Carlos wants for his clients. every were you go you find people with mobiles. many have even lost their life because of browsing with their mobiles and as a marketer you have to take advantage of that.
You are right Boris,
The client does matter. It’s why I create other accounts for them and help them get traffic from everywhere. But making sure their site is search engine ready as the foundation as well. And responsive is the way to go at this point.
Hi, Carlos
You have a great website here. I am also on The Quick Start Challenge and I’m excited to learn from your website. Thanks
Thank You Luis,
Looking forward to learning from each other.
Hi Carlos, you raise valid points. One would do well to invest in a premium responsive WordPress theme, such as from Elegant Themes or My Theme Shop. They offer a lot of potential for advanced tweaking to make the site the way you want it to look and offer great visitor experience. All the best!
Being a “newbie” I didn’t really understand this responsive website business… so thanks for educating me 🙂
It’s good to know that you’ve made it with your offline business. All the best.
Hey, Carlos –
Lots of info on your site. I’ll have to drop by occasionally to try and absorb it all!
I use my smartphone a lot as I need web access when I’m out of the office. Truthfully, I find many websites bothersome. They may have a mobile or responsive theme, but trying to scroll is often impossible. You scroll down a bit and as information loads/reloads, the cursor defaults to the top of the page. I’m not sure if this is the fault of the theme or the mobile service, but I find it happens a lot. This usually prompts me to just throw in the towel and look elsewhere. I think site owners should carefully browse their own sites on mobile devices to find glitches like this. All of us who have any kind of presence on the web realize how difficult it can be to get someone to your site…and how easy it is to lose them forever.
Keep up the good work. Just like Arnold, “I’ll be back!”
🙂
Your absolutely right Bernard,
And I have checked my own site, and it functions correctly, but I do not lilke the front page because of the colors, it looks different on mobile than on a computer. I haven’t gone back to correct it though, been busy, but I know that is in my to-do lists. Thanks for the great feedback!
Carlos