Google’s New Mobile-Friendly Labels

After months of testing, Google has just added Mobile-friendly labels in search engine results pages (SERPs) for websites that pass their mobile-friendly test.  Curious if you qualify?  Take the test and see.

It has been on Webmasters’ radar for some time, but just today Google officially announced their new mobile labels are being rolled out.  A page (not necessarily the entire website) is eligible for their “Mobile-friendly” label if it meets the following criteria as detected by Googlebot:

• Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
• Uses text that is readable without zooming
• Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll horizontally or zoom
• Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped

Does your website meet this criteria?  Try their Mobile-friendly Test and see.

It’s a pass/fail thing, but it (usually) offers a few reasons for why you didn’t pass if your page fails their test.

Mobile-friendly Label Screenshot

Though it will probably change in the future (they usually do), here’s a screenshot of what the new mobile-friendly label looks like today.

Right now, we’re only seeing these labels in mobile SERPs, but that may change as time goes on.

Will this unfairly drive traffic away from sites that are NOT mobile-friendly?  I would venture to say, yes.  And that’s pretty much the point of the update.

Why the Emphasis on Mobile-Friendly?

You might be wondering what the big deal is in this post-PC world of ours.  I think Google explains it best in today’s announcement:

Have you ever tapped on a Google Search result on your mobile phone, only to find yourself looking at a page where the text was too small, the links were tiny, and you had to scroll sideways to see all the content? This usually happens when the website has not been optimized to be viewed on a mobile phone.

This can be a frustrating experience for our mobile searchers. Starting today, to make it easier for people to find the information that they’re looking for, we’re adding a “mobile-friendly” label to our mobile search results.

We’ve all been there.

As responsive web design (RWD) and the “mobile-first” mindset have gone mainstream, mobile is the new normal.

It’s become SO mainstream, that Google is also experimenting with a new ranking algorithm that will send positive signals for mobile-friendly websites.  So going mobile-friendly is BOTH good for SEO and user experience.

Are you mobile-friendly?

As we tested Google’s mobile-friendly testing service, our only complaint is how little it actually offers advice if you fail the test. If you’d like a little more help understanding why your website is failing the test, raise your hand and let’s grab a beer.

It could be something simple or it might mean it’s time you break up with your website.  Either way, the beer (and maybe a hug) are free.