SEO mobile update from Google is coming … again!

Google’s done it again this week by announcing an upcoming update for mobile sites. They had a massive mobile update this time last year and it affected thousands of sites’ rankings.

This update’s due to come in May, so you’ve got enough time to optimise your site to take advantage of what Google’s going to do.

The update is going to check which sites are the most mobile-friendly.

What does that mean? It checks a number of different criteria but one of the most crucial is loading speed. A slow loading speed can kill your mobile ranking. Your site could have stellar ranking on desktop applications, but when it comes to mobile, a three-second delay in loading can crush your business.

Now is the time to take care of those problems and to increase your speed to make your site more mobile-friendly.

One of the most useful sites I use for this is webpagetest.org. Of course, you can also use Google search console but webpagetest.org will give you detailed results on why your site will rank high or low. You’ll be able to run a speed test to narrow down your site’s problems.

Changing web hosting might be the best answer if your host is traditionally slow but if your site’s got inherent problems, changing hosts won’t fix the trouble. Change your coding, clean up links, and fix problems with oversized pictures before thinking of going to a more expensive host. If you’ve optimised your site and it’s still loading slowly, though, it’s probably time to move on to a better host.

The benefits of moving are more than just higher rankings. Time and again we see sites increase their bottom line by tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, just by increasing their speed.

Clean up your site to speed it up, and get ready for Google in May.

For more information, visit the StewArt Media website.

Jim Stewart is a leading expert in search engine optimisation. His business  StewArt Media  has worked with clients including Mars, M2 and the City of Melbourne.