Google Implements “Mobile-Friendly” Label to Search Results

Recently, Google made an announcement that changes the game for search engine optimization. The largest search engine in the world announced that mobile users will now see a “mobile-friendly” label next to websites on search results pages that meet their requirements for a mobile site. This change means that websites that meet Google’s benchmarks for a mobile-friendly site will be more likely to turn up in a mobile search.

So how is Google going to determine which websites are worthy of its mobile-friendly tag? A page is eligible for the “mobile-friendly” label if it meets the following criteria as detected by Googlebot:

• Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
• Uses text that is readable without zooming
• Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
• Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped

If you’re curious whether or not your website meets these criteria, Google has a mobile-friendly test that lets you know whether or not your website will get the label.

“Surfing the web on your mobile phone should be enjoyable and effortless, which is why we’re now helping you find out in advance which websites offer a good experience on mobile devices,” Google’s Javier Perez wrote in a post announcing the feature, “Let’s ditch the pinching, scrolling and aimless tapping, and welcome the new wave of mobile-friendly sites.”

Indeed, the importance of having a mobile optimized website has only continued to grow. These types of websites have been shown to keep visitors on your page for longer, and future customers are expecting a seamless mobile experience. Here’s a really helpful blog post about the reasons why your business needs a mobile website written by our Suzanne Rabicoff.

In addition to these reasons, website builders now have an added incentive to optimize their website for mobile users more than ever. In fact, Google’s own Matt Cutts stated back in March that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if mobile search exceeded desktop queries this year. Yes, you read that right. Although the official numbers haven’t been released, multiple reports and analysts agree that mobile devices will be the number one platform for searching the web—if not already.