Google has announced that as of April 21st, mobile-friendliness will be a part of the search engine giant’s algorithm for determining result page rankings. In response to the growing number of internet users conducting searches with mobile devices, Google intends to improve user experience by favoring sites that are optimally structured for viewing on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. According to the official Google WebMaster’s blog, websites will earn a mobile-friendly tag beneath their SERP listing if they don’t require the use of horizontal scrolling, rely on mobile-compatible software, don’t require use of the zoom function, and have easily clickable links.

To meet these criteria, existing websites must be specifically outfitted for mobile viewing. Websites of all sizes, from e-commerce, to small business, to blogging sites, should take this algorithmic change seriously, this change will directly impact a site’s ranking. Not only will Google be less favorable to sites that aren’t mobile friendly, user experience is hindered when sites aren’t compatible, hurting site traffic and ranking even further.
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