Google is slowly moving to a mobile-only world. Those businesses that don’t have a mobile-friendly website will be left behind. 

 

Back in May of 2013, mobile devices resulted in 15% of all traffic. As of 2018, mobile traffic exceeds desktop traffic! Some of the largest companies like Yelp report that 55% of all searches are from a mobile device.

 

Although these numbers vary by industry, it’s safe to say that having a mobile-friendly website is important for your business. Despite these numbers, many businesses struggle to covert their websites to be mobile-friendly and meet the expectations of their customers.

 

Statistics tell us that only 17% of small businesses who have a website have a site that's mobile-friendly. In early 2015, that number was 11.8%! That’s an increase of only 5 percent! Time has come for small businesses to seriously consider making their website mobile-friendly. The benefits can be multiple and include lower bounce rates, higher rankings on Google, increased sales and improved user experience, among others. 

 

What Is A Mobile-Friendly Website?

In its essence, a mobile-friendly website is a website that functions properly on a phone or tablet. The entire site fits perfectly on the screen so that users don’t waste their time zooming in and out.

 

Mobile-friendly websites create a high-quality user experience on all devices and can have tremendous benefits for your business. Images appear smaller, navigation is simplified, and the content is static and doesn’t change. The loading time is fast and this is especially important as the attention span of users is at its lowest level.

 

Is My Website Mobile Friendly?

If you don’t already know whether your website is optimized for mobile, there's a good chance it isn’t. However, if you still want to check, there are several ways how you can do that.

 

Google has its own website where you can test your website to see if it’s mobile-friendly. You simply need to paste the URL of your website into the blank space as shown below, then click “Analyze.”

 

You can also use Google Webmaster Tools. Within Google Webmaster Tools there’s a mobile usability test which may offer you additional insights into issues your website may have. 

 

A higher ranking on Google Search

In 2015, Google announced its mobile-friendly algorithm that boosts mobile search rankings for websites that are mobile-friendly.

 

This update wanted to let users know that search engines will most certainly “punish” those websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. They confirmed that mobile-friendliness will be a ranking signal. It will affect all mobile searches in all languages worldwide.

 

What Google is trying to say is that having a mobile-friendly website will give you a competitive advantage. If your competition has a beautifully optimized mobile website, they’re most likely ahead of the game. To get an idea of where your company falls, you should visit the websites of your competition to see if they’re mobile optimized.  

An improved user experience

Has your home ever been in such a mess that you couldn’t find what you were looking for? Your users feel the same way when they see an unfriendly website. They can’t easily navigate the website, can’t read the content on your blog, and struggle to find your product.

 

If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website design your visitors won’t convert into customers. They’ll leave uninspired and the chances of them coming back are small. According to Google, 61% of users won’t return to a site on mobile if they had trouble accessing it and 40% of them visit a competitor’s site instead.

 

These statistics deliver the harsh truth that unfriendly websites will lose progressively larger portions of their audience than those that are mobile optimized.

Increased average time on site

As we’ve previously mentioned, the attention span of users today is that of a goldfish. Meaning, you have a limited time to capture their attention. Especially when they are accessing your website via their phones on-the-go.

 

If a visitor struggles to navigate your page and can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll leave the site in a matter of seconds. Statistics show that 8 in 10 customers stop engaging with content that doesn’t display well on their device.

 

However, when a visitor finds a mobile-friendly website that is easily navigated and the content is accessible, they’ll spend more time on your site. This decreases your bounce rate and increases the chance of converting them into customers. Nearly 83% of mobile users say that a seamless experience across all devices is highly important.

 

Did you know that mobile eCommerce revenue accounted for 50% of total U.S. eCommerce revenue in 2017? This number is only expected to up.

 

What’s more, 88% of users who search for a type of business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours.

 

For this reason, many eCommerce businesses are making improvements to their websites and are making sure they are mobile-friendly. Those who don’t move forward with the current trends will cease to exist in the future.

 

If your website isn’t mobile optimized, visitors will have poor user experience and won't refer your business to their friends. They’ll probably go to your competition that has a mobile-friendly website design.  

 

What if My Website Isn’t Mobile Friendly?

It doesn’t have to mean that it’s the end of the world if your website is not mobile-friendly. This problem can be fixed, but how fast this would take depends entirely on the current state of your website. In some cases, a few hours’ worth of work may be all it takes. In other cases, your website might need a complete redesign.

 

Time For Action

With its latest announcements and algorithms, Google is trying to tell us that they’re moving to a mobile-only world. They’re closely paying attention to all the statistics you’ve read in this post. If the search engines crawl on your website and see that it’s not mobile-friendly, Google will not hesitate to get you penalized. You’ll use your website and with it your business.

 

If you’re an owner of a small business, now it’s the right time to make a move and create a mobile-friendly design for your website. Taking this step will pay you dividends on the long-term.