Google is the most popular and convenient search engine globally, and it seems that this status will not end soon. Google now wants to make it easier and more convenient for smartphone users to search and read through web page content. They plan to achieve this by adding a mobile friendly label to their mobile search results. Long gone are the days where viewing webpage results via your mobile phone were frustrating. This update by Google will enable its users to access webpage results that do not have tiny texts or links and pages with contents sized to the screen thus preventing users from having to scroll sideways in order to view all content. This mobile-friendly update by Google rolled out globally yesterday on 21st April 2015. It plans to improve the surfing experience of mobile phone users. This will be done by boosting the ranking of mobile friendly pages on mobile search results.

For a page to be labelled mobile friendly it should meet the following criteria:

Itshould use texts that are easily readable by mobile users without the need for zooming.

Places links far apart from each other so that the page user can easily tap on the correct link.

It should also avoid software that may not be common on mobile devices.

It should also have its contents sized to the screen in order to prevent its users from having to scroll sideways in order to view all content.

Advantages of the Google mobile friendly update

1. Increase in the number of mobile friendly websites

This update will bring about a boost in the ranking of mobile friendly webpages while downgrading the ranks of those pages which are not mobile friendly. There is no company that wants their webpage ranking downgraded, as it will make their website less accessible to their potential customers. This is why most companies right now are trying to find out whether their sites are mobile friendly, while others are now optimizing their sites in order to make them competitive and mobile friendly.

2· Better surfing experience for Google search engine users

The number of smartphone users globally has grown greatly and this fact should no longer be ignored by companies and website developers. This update will force these companies and website developers to optimize their webpages for smartphone devices. This will make it easier and more convenient for mobile device users to access website content.

3· Better earnings for website owners

This update will also be very beneficial to website owners. Website owners of mobile friendly websites will definitely enjoy better revenue as they will have a higher ranking, which means Google search will send more mobile device users traffic their way. This will greatly contribute to the earnings of smartphone optimized websites. The rolling out of the mobile friendly update by Google is already here, whether you are prepared or not. Now all that website owners can do is try and make sure that their websites meet the criteria for mobile friendly sites. This is the only way you can compete in this new era. Here are some of the ways in which you can ensure that your page meets the mobile friendly criteria:

4· Check your webpages with the new Mobile Friendly Test

(a) You can also read the updated documentation by Google’s Webmasters Mobile Guide on the ways you can create and upgrade your mobile site.

(b) Check the how- to guide for third-party software such as Joomla and WordPress, in order to migrate your website to a mobile friendly template.

(c) Make sure your website is mobile friendly. Take the Google Mobile-Friendly Test and fix potential issues with your website.

Mobile-Friendly Test for Vocso.Com

(d) You can also read the Mobile usability report in Google Webmaster Tools, which highlights major mobile usability issues on your entire site.

Fix mobile usability issues affecting your site:

This update by Google is the best way for all of us to move forward. The number of smartphone users has significantly grown and by the end of this year, smartphone users will have surpassed 2 billion. This is a large number, and the number is still rapidly growing, this is why Google came up with this update. It is just a way to prepare the whole world for the near future. This is the reason why Google has always been at the top, they always find another way to ensure that their users are satisfied and that it remains relevant in these changing times.