April 21, 2015. A day that will live in infamy for those who work on the web. The day that Google released their mobile-friendly algorithm. The day of Mobilegeddon.
A bit dramatic? Absolutely. But so has been the coverage of Google’s most recent algorithm update.
The change took place on April 21, and almost immediately the term “Mobilegeddon” began surfacing – and surfacing bigtime. It’s not often news of a Google algorithm update makes it outside the circle of search engine blogs and marketing professionals, but Mobilegeddon hit it large across multiple news sources and quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon. The list of traditional news sources talking about it is nothing short of staggering. Just check out this short list:
So why the widespread distribution? Why the cultural phenomenon? Why the term “Mobilegeddon”? The answer: fear of fallout – and how it will impact the big brands. Whereas previous algorithm updates like Panda and Penguin didn’t touch big business too much, this mobile-friendly algorithm change could actually have ramifications for major corporations and their websites. A survey several weeks ago by TechCrunch found that barely half of the Fortune 500 companies had mobile-friendly websites, meaning that at least half were vulnerable to the effects of this algo change.
But it’s not just big business that will suffer. Small businesses, many of whom might not have the means to make their sites responsive, will also likely feel the effects – even more so if they rely on local search results for foot traffic.
While all the coverage might not quite constitute fear-mongering, it has definitely led to an atmosphere of fear for the business community, hence the creation of the term “Mobilgeddon” and its quick rise in popularity.
And the term “Mobilegeddon” has exploded in terms of popularity. Just look at the term’s jump in interest over time.
The term has become so well-known that even advertisers are bidding on this keyword. Day 2 saw at least one paid ad for the term; by day 3, the competition was increasing.
April 22:
April 23:
What does Mobilegeddon really mean?
As we reported in our post “Google Announces Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Update” last month, Google’s algorithm will now more heavily favor the mobile-friendliness of a website as a ranking factor when determining search engine results. The change only affects mobile search results, with desktop searches supposedly remaining the same.
The good news is that as soon a site switches over to a responsive design it will begin reaping the benefits – there’s no retroactive punishment for not being mobile at this time. The change will also operate on a page-by-page basis. So if you don’t have the resources to convert your entire website to responsive design, you can tackle the project piecemeal by starting with your most important pages.
If you’re interested in learning more about Mobilegeddon, mobile web design or how to take your site responsive, contact The frank Agency today!
