Digital marketers appear to be ready for a new mobile-friendly search algorithm from Google – or at least they say they are.
An update to Google’s search algorithm goes into effect on April 21, and it’s expected to prioritize mobile-friendly websites in search results. Web presence analytics vendor gShift Labs of Barrie, Ont. surveyed digital marketers across a range of industries from retail and travel to automotive, and found mixed views on whether the changes will impact their business.
More than half of the respondents – 52 per cent – said they believe their business will be affected by the mobile ranking algorithm change, 20 per cent said the change will not impact their business and 28 per cent were unsure.
Some 65 of respondents indicated they were factoring in mobile strategies for SEO and content marketing in order to accommodate mobile search since learning about this change from Google, but some 20 per cent said they were going to wait and see how it shakes out.
Waiting may be a somewhat risky strategy, as mobile devices are becoming an increasingly important source of website traffic. A majority of respondents said mobile devices are responsible for between 11 and 50 per cent of their website traffic. That’s likely why more than 68 per cent said they feel their website is already mobile friendly.
As the Google algorithm changes come though, nearly half of respondents admitted they’re not using any tools to track their keyword rankings on desktop versus mobile.
“As mobile searches continue to eclipse the desktop, digital marketers are keenly aware of the importance of having a well-defined mobile strategy. Yet they also know that it must align with the needs of their target audience and complement their other channels, such as social and content marketing,” said Krista LaRiviere, CEO and co-founder of gShift, in a statement. “Since there are many roads that lead customers to your door, savvy digital marketers are carefully and regularly assessing their results across all of their channels so they can effectively map and execute successful, cross-channel and cross-device campaigns.”