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Why Google Is Giving More Preference To Responsive Websites ?Tag Archives:

Mobile usability has been an important part of the Google search algorithm. Mobile device optimized websites are taking place higher place than their non-optimized counterparts. Until recently, the ranking factor has been ambiguous. But everything’s going to change on 21st April. Till now, many webmasters have been avoided the responsiveness of website to make it mobile friendly. But this announcement would force them to adopt mobile friendly version of website which could adjust itself according to gadgets.

Previously, the factors that were used by Google to rank different websites were not clear, but the situation is soon going to change. According to the recently published Google blog post, the search giant is working on a major algorithm change to revolutionize the way in which mobile friendliness of a website is determined. From 21st April onwards, this new algorithm will be rolled out throughout the world and will affect all searches done in different parts of the world.

Generally, the updates come unannounced but recently Google has announced that “Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.”

Prepare For Mobilegeddon
Google has made the announcement about the update well before the time and thus people have ample time in their hands to make the required changes. While the details about the update have not been given out yet, Gary Illyes, the Webmaster trends analyst did share a few details.

• Responsive websites will not have ranking benefit
• No effect on tablets will be observed
• Page level is used to determine mobile friendliness rather than sitewide
• Work is being done on the dedicated mobile index by Google

Why Responsive Design is Preferred By The Search Giant
According to Google, responsive web design is the best industry practice. As responsive websites have a single URL and same HTML, it becomes easier for Google to crawl and index the website. Regardless of the screen size, the content of the website is displayed accurately and there is no need to zoom in or zoom out the text.

In contrast, a non-responsive desktop website will have a different URL from its mobile version and thus Google will have to index two different URL and HTML of the same site. Responsive website is also preferred by Google because content present on one website is easier to share and link while being 100% unique as compared to the text that is present on two similar website designed for different platforms.

Time to Take An Action
For years, Google has been telling webmasters to prepare the site for mobile. But after the announcement, webmasters are now being compelled to make a move. If you are thinking about designing a mobile friendly website, do so at the earliest.

Are you still confused between a responsive website and a non-responsive site? The best option will be to weigh the pros and cons of both the options before making a choice.

The customization Process
While a mobile website is optimized for hand-held device users, a responsive website takes the standard website a step further. Mobile sites generally have less content, and are designed with several other mobile specific options. However even after having a separate site for the mobile users, it is difficult to present the text in an optimal way. The screen width of the devices differs to a large extent. Some of the standard resolutions present in the market are:

• 320px wide
• 480px wide
• 600px wide
• 768px wide
• 800px wide
• 1024px wide

Therefore, it can be an expensive task to design different websites based on the screen resolutions. In contrast, responsive websites adjust themselves according to the screen size in turn offering an optimal viewing experience to the user.

Design
When a comparison is made between a non-responsive website and responsive site, the former is easier to design and develop while being an economical option. However, the latter proves to be the best option between the two in the longer run. Responsive websites have high upfront cost but is seen as a lifetime investment.

Optimization Of The Site
If you are choosing to build the mobile website on a sub-domain, remember to use canonical tags for duplicate mobile pages. By doing so, you can easily resolve the issue of plagiarism, however do not put canonical tags on unique and fresh content. On the other hand, responsive websites do not necessitate any special SEO practices apart from the regular ones and thus are recommended by Google.

Link Building
Link-building is an important part of the optimization process of the website. Practically, it is more productive and economical option to build links to one site rather than multiple websites. A large difference separates traditional link-building from the mobile link-building. So, when it comes to building links to the website, responsive design is a better option than designing two different sites.

What to Choose
Are you still uncertain about what to choose? If you are picking up a non-responsive website, it may work with the latest update, but there is no guarantee that it will work with the subsequent updates released by Google. Therefore, it is always better to go in for a responsive site as it will help you to cater to the need of your customers. It works perfectly with different screen sizes and is also recommended by Google.

More and more people are using mobile phones, tablets and other hand-held devices to browse the web. Google is pushing out different mobile website testing tools to suggest the importance of responsive websites. With the search being highly mobile, the latest update makes sense. So before the deadline is reached, make your business website responsive. With the coming of 21st April, you will observe a rise in your responsive website’s ranking.

So take an action before the latest Google update hurt your website’s ranking. Make your website responsive to remain in sync with the latest Google updates.