Is your website mobile friendly? No? Read this now!

responsive website design

Mobilegeddon has Arrived!

On Tuesday, April 21st, Google implemented one of its biggest changes to its mobile search ranking algorithm and the potential impact is so big that it has been dubbed “Mobilegeddon.” Early estimates say there may be as many as 40% or more of the current top websites that are not responsive (mobile friendly) who will find their website traffic plummet. In a recent statement, Google said it is making this change because it wants consumers to

“…find content that’s not only relevant and timely, but also easy to read and interact with on smaller mobile screens.”

Today, over half of all searches done on Google originate from mobile devices and that number continues to grow as more people spend more and more time on smartphones. It’s always been a good idea to have your website be responsive in order to reach the most users, but with this new change in how Google processes search requests,  you absolutely NEED this important capability. to help your website appear higher in the results. Those who delay updating their sites are guaranteed to lose search traffic.

How do I know if my site is mobile friendly?

Use Google’s Mobile Friendly Test Tool to test your home page, your blog, sales pages, and any other important pages.

Did you pass?

Yes, whew! Great, you are ahead of your competitors. Carry on!

No, darn it. If your site failed, you need to update it NOW!

Ack! I failed the test! Now, what do I do?

You’re not up a creek without a paddle; you have a couple of options.
You can change your theme to a responsive one, locate and install a specialized plugin, or schedule some time to talk with me to help discover YOUR best solution to get ahead of your competitors and claim more traffic.

Need a new website? Need a makeover?
Want to talk about your ideas and goals?
Contact me today!

Create your own app!

create-your-own-appConduit Mobile has a great solution to many people’s desire to have their own app. They’ve created a fun web-based tool that will add as much or as little functionality as you like.

I played around with their web-based creation tool today and was really happy with my results. It’s a simple tool for individual publishers to make apps out of their content and is aimed at larger blogs and businesses like restaurants, musicians, events, etc.

If you have a simple blog or are just starting out, you should do a cost/benefit analysis before you jump in. Actually, you should ALWAYS do one before adding something new. (Yes, I know I don’t practice what I preach…)  😉  If you don’t bring in enough to cover the monthly fee, put this one on the back burner until you are.

It’s a great solution for a quick and easy custom app for iPhone (5, 4S, 4), iPad, Android, and HTML 5. The developers are also working to add Windows Phone to the list. They’ve thought of everything!

Conduit Mobile has three levels of subscription. The free level is only for 5 users and if you’re planning to grow your business in 2014…that’s not for you. The next level is $39 a month and includes their branding on the app. The third level is $99 a month and includes the removal of their branding (aka ‘white label’) as well as the ability to change the content hosting to your own domain.

PS – I didn’t finish my app yet, so don’t go looking for it…I have to do my own cost/benefit analysis!