Garages and workshops are being urged to get their websites mobile responsive in advance of Google’s new Mobile First index, which will see websites ranked on the mobile version of their webpage, rather than the desktop version, when it launches.
Google first officially announced the proposed new Mobile First algorithm at the end of 2016 and has said it is designed to both reflect the increasing numbers of searches that are made on smartphones and ensure that its algorithms accurately rank the content that is being served.
This move by Google is no surprise, considering the recent massive growth of smartphone ownership and usage. Recent figures show that total browse time per month is much higher on smartphones than via desktops, with an average of 66 hours spent surfing the net via smartphones, compared with just 29 hours via desktops. (Source: ComScore Mobile Metrix, 2017).
According to Dragon2000, if garages and workshops have a responsive website, or a fully functioning mobile version, then they should perform well in Google’s new ranking. Mark Kelland, Commercial Manager at Dragon2000 comments: “If garages and workshops already have a mobile responsive site then the changes shouldn’t affect them. However garages and workshops with separate mobile sites need to ensure that all their content and structured markup are the same as their desktop version, otherwise they risk a drop in their website rankings.
“Garages and workshops who don’t have much involvement with their website and simply leave it to their provider may not even realise that their current site is not mobile responsive, with those particularly at risk being garages and workshops that have ageing websites, or basic template sites. The added benefit of having a mobile responsive website is that it is a far better experience for the mobile user, as images, text and layout all scale properly between desktop and mobile browsers.
“Websites that are not responsive leave the mobile user scrolling sideways across large images and text, which is frustrating, and will likely make them give up trying to use the site. Garages and workshops with basic or outdated websites that are not mobile responsive will undoubtedly miss out on a growing mobile audience, so they should switch to a modern-looking mobile responsive website as soon as possible.
For further information, please visit www.dragon2000.co.uk
