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Site owners beware: 'Mobile-geddon' is almost upon us

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Apr 2015 8:28 User comments (14)

Site owners beware: 'Mobile-geddon' is almost upon us

On Tuesday, Google will update its mobile search algorithm, a move that will likely affect millions of sites and has already been dubbed 'Mobile-geddon.'
The algorithm will soon begin favoring sites that are mobile-friendly (meaning they easily resize to all screen sizes and have larger text and are easy to navigate), and non-mobile-friendly sites will get lowered in search rankings.

Google says about 60 percent of total Internet traffic now comes from mobile devices and they want these users to have good experiences when searching. Google first noted the changes back in February giving webmasters over two months to update their sites.

The change has already been called mobile-geddon because it is expected hurt millions of small business websites that may not be tech savvy enough to have 'mobile-friendly' experiences or are just outdated after having paid for a custom site years ago.

Source:
CNBC



Tags: Google Mobile
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14 user comments

119.4.2015 20:40
bobiroc
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Can you turn it off? I don't mind these options as they make sense but people should have the option to turn it off as it could skew searches and make people miss more relevant content.

219.4.2015 20:43
audvare
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Newbie

Originally posted by bobiroc:
 Can you turn it off? I don't mind these options as they make sense but people should have the option to turn it off as it could skew searches and make people miss more relevant content.
Even for me as site owner it is Google saying 'tant pis pour toi'. If I want my site to stay at the top for certain queries I have to update for mobile (which I already did a while ago although not great). And I am pretty certain by mobile they do not mean provide a m.whatever.com site (as this would be a redirect and has its own SEO issues). They mean fully responsive.

319.4.2015 22:01
ChappyTTV
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Member

They should have a toggle so that mobile users can toggle to a "mobile friendly" search engine and leave the main algorithm alone. Forcing this upon everyone is a mistake that will cost 100's of millions in losses across the global economy for the small business people. It's as bad as MS's blunder with W8 and forcing anyone who wants to keep up on the latest OS to use a PC un-friendly OS.
Why do the big dogs not learn from others mistakes? Why do they feel they can just force everyone to do what they want?
(I know the answers BTW lol)

419.4.2015 22:06
bobiroc
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Senior Member

Originally posted by audvare:
Originally posted by bobiroc:
 Can you turn it off? I don't mind these options as they make sense but people should have the option to turn it off as it could skew searches and make people miss more relevant content.
Even for me as site owner it is Google saying 'tant pis pour toi'. If I want my site to stay at the top for certain queries I have to update for mobile (which I already did a while ago although not great). And I am pretty certain by mobile they do not mean provide a m.whatever.com site (as this would be a redirect and has its own SEO issues). They mean fully responsive.
I do agree with that. Google thinks they own the internet and can do what they want with it and spy and track data on whomever uses it. I am not a fan of them which is why I do my best to avoid their products and services.

519.4.2015 22:08
audvare
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Originally posted by ChappyTTV:
 They should have a toggle so that mobile users can toggle to a "mobile friendly" search engine and leave the main algorithm alone.
Maybe except then there may be no progress in making responsive web sites because every one who uses Google will either not use Google (where such a 'feature' does not yet exist) or to toggle on your 'legacy' flag.

Originally posted by ChappyTTV:
 Forcing this upon everyone is a mistake that will cost 100's of millions in losses across the global economy for the small business people. It's as bad as MS's blunder with W8 and forcing anyone who wants to keep up on the latest OS to use a PC un-friendly OS.
Why do the big dogs not learn from others mistakes? Why do they feel they can just force everyone to do what they want?
(I know the answers BTW lol)
No you don't. Why not tell us this secret knowledge of yours?

The better question is why can't the companies (regardless of size) realise that mobile is real and not ignorable? https://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-...d=0&qpcustomd=1 Even if you outsource your web development, responsive web design should not be something forgotten, optional, or done as a horrible final touch.

620.4.2015 01:36
DXR88
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Senior Member

Quote:
 Google says about 60 percent of total Internet traffic now comes from mobile devices and they want these users to have good experiences when searching. Google first noted the changes back in February giving webmasters over two months to update their sites.


bah bullshit, Ive not seen a server that fits in your hand and can service billions of mobile devices.

720.4.2015 18:57
g_slide
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This is suck BS, because I'm a Web Designer and have been for over a decade and I can't stand either the m.whatever.com or responsive design webpages for tablets and smartphones.

#1 reason why is because the lack of detail that is displayed on a page with the bigger fonts, jumbo size CTA (call to action) buttons, etc.

Personally I always look for the "desktop" or "full version" at the footer of the webpage for example on eBay or Amazon. I do understand the reasoning for it, but changing the algorithm based on responsive webpages I just can't justify that.

821.4.2015 18:05
ThePastor
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Where can I find the opposite of this? I want a search engine that removes all so-called "Mobile friendly" cartoonish websites and only shows me actual, real websites on my actual-real computer.

921.4.2015 23:11
ChappyTTV
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Member

Originally posted by audvare:
Originally posted by ChappyTTV:
 They should have a toggle so that mobile users can toggle to a "mobile friendly" search engine and leave the main algorithm alone.
Maybe except then there may be no progress in making responsive web sites because every one who uses Google will either not use Google (where such a 'feature' does not yet exist) or to toggle on your 'legacy' flag.

Originally posted by ChappyTTV:
 Forcing this upon everyone is a mistake that will cost 100's of millions in losses across the global economy for the small business people. It's as bad as MS's blunder with W8 and forcing anyone who wants to keep up on the latest OS to use a PC un-friendly OS.
Why do the big dogs not learn from others mistakes? Why do they feel they can just force everyone to do what they want?
(I know the answers BTW lol)
No you don't. Why not tell us this secret knowledge of yours?

The better question is why can't the companies (regardless of size) realise that mobile is real and not ignorable? https://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-...d=0&qpcustomd=1 Even if you outsource your web development, responsive web design should not be something forgotten, optional, or done as a horrible final touch.
Because they're BIG and don't really give a shite about us users!

1023.4.2015 20:32
sternrulez
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Junior Member

Hopefully this won't garner too many hate-filled responses, but I only have 1 thing to say: those that don't keep up with technology are doomed to be buried by it, and I have 2 very good examples to support this...Blockbuster and Radio Shack.

Think about this for a moment...would you WANT to order something from an outdated website that doesn't have up-to-date security measures to keep your info safe? Not that that matters to the determined, but I feel at least a little safer knowing that I'm better protected than using an XP-age website.

1123.4.2015 22:07
ChappyTTV
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Member

Originally posted by sternrulez:
 Hopefully this won't garner too many hate-filled responses, but I only have 1 thing to say: those that don't keep up with technology are doomed to be buried by it, and I have 2 very good examples to support this...Blockbuster and Radio Shack.

Think about this for a moment...would you WANT to order something from an outdated website that doesn't have up-to-date security measures to keep your info safe? Not that that matters to the determined, but I feel at least a little safer knowing that I'm better protected than using an XP-age website.
It's not a security/vulnerability issue nor are they outdated sites either, it's about mobile vs PC friendly sites with mobile friendly ones now becoming the "preferred" type of website.
With a corporation like Google putting their weight behind this, it's a no-win for PC friendly sites.

1224.4.2015 09:06
sternrulez
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Junior Member

Originally posted by ChappyTTV:
Originally posted by sternrulez:
 Hopefully this won't garner too many hate-filled responses, but I only have 1 thing to say: those that don't keep up with technology are doomed to be buried by it, and I have 2 very good examples to support this...Blockbuster and Radio Shack.

Think about this for a moment...would you WANT to order something from an outdated website that doesn't have up-to-date security measures to keep your info safe? Not that that matters to the determined, but I feel at least a little safer knowing that I'm better protected than using an XP-age website.
It's not a security/vulnerability issue nor are they outdated sites either, it's about mobile vs PC friendly sites with mobile friendly ones now becoming the "preferred" type of website.
With a corporation like Google putting their weight behind this, it's a no-win for PC friendly sites.
Sorry for the misunderstanding Chappy...yeah, I get that part. I was referring to the last paragraph of the story when I commented..sorry again! :)

However, I would like to add this to the mix if I may. I've found myself using my phone more and more as of late to do searches anyway, but oftentimes I'm not happy with the mobile-friendly site. In that case I just hit the menu button on Chrome and then 'request full site'. That should actually solve a lot of issues that people are having with the mobile friendly sites :)

1325.4.2015 07:15
bw5011
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Newbie

Use Bing! After five minutes you will not worry about what Google is doing with its search engine. I gave them up a while ago, along with Gmail.

1427.4.2015 00:09
ChappyTTV
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Member

Originally posted by sternrulez:
Originally posted by ChappyTTV:
Originally posted by sternrulez:
 Hopefully this won't garner too many hate-filled responses, but I only have 1 thing to say: those that don't keep up with technology are doomed to be buried by it, and I have 2 very good examples to support this...Blockbuster and Radio Shack.

Think about this for a moment...would you WANT to order something from an outdated website that doesn't have up-to-date security measures to keep your info safe? Not that that matters to the determined, but I feel at least a little safer knowing that I'm better protected than using an XP-age website.
It's not a security/vulnerability issue nor are they outdated sites either, it's about mobile vs PC friendly sites with mobile friendly ones now becoming the "preferred" type of website.
With a corporation like Google putting their weight behind this, it's a no-win for PC friendly sites.
Sorry for the misunderstanding Chappy...yeah, I get that part. I was referring to the last paragraph of the story when I commented..sorry again! :)

However, I would like to add this to the mix if I may. I've found myself using my phone more and more as of late to do searches anyway, but oftentimes I'm not happy with the mobile-friendly site. In that case I just hit the menu button on Chrome and then 'request full site'. That should actually solve a lot of issues that people are having with the mobile friendly sites :)
Hey, no prob!
I don't like searching on my phone, I always feel like I'm missing something on the site because of the lack of screen space. That's just me tho, I probably am not missing something but it's still nagging at me. I use it if I have to but if I have access to a PC, I'll use that instead.

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