With reports threatening significant drops in web traffic for non-mobile sites, Google’s ‘mobilegeddon’ may have many website owners running for their web developers, but it’s important not to panic.

Although time is of the essence, Google’s recent algorithm change is not the SEO apocalypse that many pundits are predicting.

First and foremost, there’s no need to completely rebuild sites right away. Smart technology exists today that can detect how visitors connect to a site and reformat it accordingly through responsive design. This means that sites are not simply ‘mobile’ or ‘desktop’ – they’re ready for whichever type of device visitors are using.

Secondly, having a mobile-friendly form is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s important in search rankings, but it’s crucial to look at the bigger picture; visitors may find a mobile site much more easily through search, but the content and overall customer experience still needs to be compelling to retain that visitor. All the parts need to work together effectively if customers are to be attracted, engaged, converted and retained.

Websites – and indeed, brands - are larger than the sum of their parts, with every aspect working together to provide an experience which helps customers form a lasting opinion of the brand itself.

Furthermore, there’s certainly a hierarchy of needs: according to Sitecore’s own research with Econsultancy, having a mobile-optimised site is less important to customers than other ‘must-have’ measures such as ‘finding what you’re looking for’ and ‘carrying out basic tasks [such as ordering and paying] online’.

However, with the number of tablets and smartphones owned by UK and global consumers rising each year, Google has wisely taken steps to future-proof the search market.

Furthermore, Gartner recently released research predicting that almost 90% of companies think that customer experience will be the main way that they compete with their rivals by 2016. Whilst mobile is a key piece of this puzzle, it needs to fit together with the actual content and engagement/user experience that the website and brand presents to offer a truly compelling proposition.

 

By Laurence Debruyne, marketing director at Sitecore. 

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