April 21st marks yet another big day for SEOs. Google is doing another one of its famous updates that will shake what we know about search engine optimization and page ranking. In case you’re curious, Moz put together a definitive list previous Google updates brush up on what’s been happening to the Google algorithm in the past. But now let’s get down to the important stuff – what can we expect before the end of the month? Although Google hasn’t released all of the information, we do know that this update will affect more people than the Panda and Penguin updates in the past so you better have your website ready.

GOOGLE UPDATE 2015 – MOBILE FRIENDLY

MORE MOBILE WEBSITES IN SEARCH RESULTS

More and more people are doing their Google searches on mobile devices, approximately 50% of all Google searches are done on mobile. To compensate for that, after the Google update you will be seeing more mobile-friendly content in the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). Although the ranking will only affect mobile SERPs, we can predict that this change will also hit desktop searches in the near future.

If you’re website and landing pages aren’t optimized for mobile, you’re basically saying goodbye to 50% of your traffic. Google created a Mobile-Friendly Test that you can use to test specific page URLs and make sure that they are optimized for mobile. If they aren’t, you have time to update them.

What about responsive design? If your website is built around a responsive design, you’re in the clear and will not likely see a change in your rankings. Google has said in the past that responsive is their preferred website design and we can expect that these types of sites will be favored by the search engine in the future.

MORE APPS IN SEARCH RESULTS

Google now uses App Indexing as a part of its algorithm. They will be using this tool as a factor to rank apps in SERPs after the update. So now you’re not only competing with other websites for ranking, you’re also competing with apps. App Packs will be displayed for certain keywords, meaning a group of related apps that are similarly ranked will show up in the organic section of the results page, similar to how local results appear now.

If you have an app it is about to have the potential to gain a lot more visibility on mobile devices. If you don’t have an app, you don’t need to develop one if the budget is tight. For most businesses, a mobile website is a necessity especially after the latest Google update. Although it is beneficial to have both a mobile site and a mobile app, you need to make the decision what is best for your business. Can you include an added value in a mobile app that makes it different than a mobile site? Then consider starting app development.

GET A WEBSITE ANALYSIS TODAY

Not sure how this update will affect your presence online? Contact SCM Marketing Solutions or fill out the form below. We can help you determine what changes you need in order to stay on top after the update takes place on April 21st.