On April 21, Google will start revealing an
mobile-friendly algorithm update worldwide that will have a “significant impact”
on mobile search results for mobile searchers.This algorithm update is big news. But how will it impact your ecommerce performance?
Naturally, the top questions in minds of ecommerce marketers revolve around how the update will affect sales.
Does This Update Affect All Sites?
That totally depends on whether your website passes the mobile-friendly website test on April 21 or not. Head to Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
and enter a URL. In about 1 minute, this tool will give you a definitive
and easy-to-understand pass-fail response like the one shown below.
Mobile test results for two sites: a passing site on the left and a failing site on the right.
The result page of test will also specify reasons that why the page has
been deemed unfriendly, such as small text, link spacing, horizontal
scrolling, and other mobile usability issues.
How Does Google’s Mobile-friendly Update Affect Ecommerce Website Performance?
A positive test result Will benefit your ecommerce site
from the mobile-friendly algorithm update. At the very least, your site
should retain its mobile rankings. And quite possible the site
rank higher if it passes the result. this algorithm update is all upside
for organic search performance.
A negative test result means that your site will not benefit from the
update, and that competitors’ sites that are mobile friendly could push
your site down in the rankings.
This algorithm update is bad news for sites that Google does not see as mobile friendly. But how bad?
Google is calling the update “significant,” which is a big deal for Google. Other similarly labeled updates include the Panda and Penguin algorithm updates
of the past few years. The amount of emphasis that the Google Webmaster
team is putting on education around this update highlights further the
expected impact.
