Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Google’s New Mobile Index Split | How It Will Effect Your SEO
What is the Google index? Every day, Google’s search engine “bots” crawl through websites and index the contents so that results can be presented to searchers. Until now there has been one unified index for both desktop and mobile searches, so no matter what device you were searching from, the results would be basically the same.
Google’s plan is to provide results optimized for mobile users, and they will be updating and focusing on the mobile index to a greater degree than the desktop index. When a search is conducted from a desktop computer, Google will present results from the desktop index. Alternately, when a search is conducted on a mobile device, Google will present results from the mobile index.
Effect on Websites
If a website is responsive, very little will change. The main criteria will be the speed of the website. If the website is slow to load then it will suffer in the rankings compared to faster sites.
- This will be especially important going forward with new websites we build, and the designers and developers will need to be aware of these issues:
- All sites will need to be run through Google’s website speed tester prior to launch. If the site scores lower than 90 out of 100, adjustments will need to be made following Google’s suggestions.
- Images and other design elements will need to be optimized to enhance the speed of the site. These design considerations will need to be made during the initial concept phase to avoid any potential speed issues.
- Scripts and other files necessary to the site will need to be “minified” and placed in the optimal load order. Google has good documentation on this and it should be followed by the developers. In addition, no supporting files should be loaded from external sites wherever possible. This includes jQuery base files and jQuery app files. Wherever possible, font files should be loaded locally.
For SEO clients who already have responsive sites, the same issues above will apply and some modifications will need to be made.
For those clients with separate mobile sites there will be more issues to consider. The main issue will be content. Since most mobile sites contain only an abbreviated portion of the content of the main website, the reduction in content (because Google is now keeping a separate mobile index) will definitely affect the site’s rankings.
To correct this, the same content that exists on the desktop version of the site will need to be present in the mobile version. This ensures that Google will have enough content to index in order to rank the site effectively. Obviously, this presents challenges when it comes to showing interactive content (Choose Your Look, Terms, etc), and a solid development plan will need to be in place to address these challenges.
Also, Google’s focus is moving increasingly toward their AMP (accelerated mobile pages) technology and soon will play a major role in rankings. It is highly recommended that we begin exploring this technology in order to stay in the game.
Effect on SEO Efforts
For existing responsive sites, the main thing to consider is optimizing the site for speed. This will involve a combination of work from the designers and the developers. The designers will need to develop routines for optimizing the images and graphical elements, and the developers will need to concentrate on optimizing the code and supporting files.
For new responsive sites, it will be important to follow the guidelines above during the entire development process.
In terms of additional time needed for SEO purposes, there should be no additional efforts other than a possible change to the monthly reporting. I’m still waiting to see if the SEO reporting software will change to accommodate the index split. But once the site is optimized for speed, monthly on-site SEO efforts should remain the same. For sites with separate mobile versions, a little additional time will be required in order to make sure the desktop and mobile versions are in sync, with attention being paid to the differences needed in order to affect rankings. The additional time needed will have little impact overall.
Conclusion
Unless more changes are revealed by Google, this announced change to Google’s index will have little impact in terms of monthly SEO work required. The primary consideration will be developing responsive sites for optimal speed, developing new techniques and requirements to achieve this, and exploring new technologies such as AMP. The burden will rest on the designers and developers to produce sites that meet Google’s optimization guidelines.
For those clients with separate mobile sites there will be more issues to consider. The main issue will be content. Since most mobile sites contain only an abbreviated portion of the content of the main website, the reduction in content (because Google is now keeping a separate mobile index) will definitely affect the site’s rankings.
To correct this, the same content that exists on the desktop version of the site will need to be present in the mobile version. This ensures that Google will have enough content to index in order to rank the site effectively. Obviously, this presents challenges when it comes to showing interactive content (Choose Your Look, Terms, etc), and a solid development plan will need to be in place to address these challenges.
Also, Google’s focus is moving increasingly toward their AMP (accelerated mobile pages) technology and soon will play a major role in rankings. It is highly recommended that we begin exploring this technology in order to stay in the game.
Effect on SEO Efforts
For existing responsive sites, the main thing to consider is optimizing the site for speed. This will involve a combination of work from the designers and the developers. The designers will need to develop routines for optimizing the images and graphical elements, and the developers will need to concentrate on optimizing the code and supporting files.
For new responsive sites, it will be important to follow the guidelines above during the entire development process.
In terms of additional time needed for SEO purposes, there should be no additional efforts other than a possible change to the monthly reporting. I’m still waiting to see if the SEO reporting software will change to accommodate the index split. But once the site is optimized for speed, monthly on-site SEO efforts should remain the same. For sites with separate mobile versions, a little additional time will be required in order to make sure the desktop and mobile versions are in sync, with attention being paid to the differences needed in order to affect rankings. The additional time needed will have little impact overall.
Conclusion
Unless more changes are revealed by Google, this announced change to Google’s index will have little impact in terms of monthly SEO work required. The primary consideration will be developing responsive sites for optimal speed, developing new techniques and requirements to achieve this, and exploring new technologies such as AMP. The burden will rest on the designers and developers to produce sites that meet Google’s optimization guidelines.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
We #MannequinChallenge You
The latest internet craze is the Mannequin Challenge! The #MannequinChallenge involves a group of people to strike a pose while being filmed to hip hop artist Rae Sremmurd’s newly released song “Black Beatles” in the background.
The first viral video of the Mannequin Challenge surfaced in October 2016, and it's now trending all across the net. There are currently more than 56,000 posts with the hashtag #MannequinChallenge and the number rises every day. Now, it’s our turn!
Just a typical day at Solutions by design…#MannequinChallenge
The Mannequin Challenge is easy to create and fun to participate in! It’s so fun, we’re challenging YOU to create your own clip! It may seem a little odd, but trust us, it’s a powerful form of social media marketing and branding. Many brands have received amazing results while posting viral videos such as this, so join us and take on our challenge!
Tag Us!
Don’t forget to tag us in your mannequin challenge videos! Use #SBDMadeMeDoIt so we can LIKE & SHARE your video!
The first viral video of the Mannequin Challenge surfaced in October 2016, and it's now trending all across the net. There are currently more than 56,000 posts with the hashtag #MannequinChallenge and the number rises every day. Now, it’s our turn!
Just a typical day at Solutions by design…#MannequinChallenge
The Mannequin Challenge is easy to create and fun to participate in! It’s so fun, we’re challenging YOU to create your own clip! It may seem a little odd, but trust us, it’s a powerful form of social media marketing and branding. Many brands have received amazing results while posting viral videos such as this, so join us and take on our challenge!
Tag Us!
Don’t forget to tag us in your mannequin challenge videos! Use #SBDMadeMeDoIt so we can LIKE & SHARE your video!
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
‘Tis the Season for some FREEBIES!
Get your office into the spirit of the season with FREE selfie signs from Solutions by Design. Download your FREE SELFIE SIGNS to help promote your practice on social media and engage with your patients. Just click the link to get yours now!
Download Now (takes you to this form: http://www.solutionsbydesign.com/freebies.php
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