Early in 2012 we decided that all of our websites would be designed and developed as Responsive. We didn’t like the feel or look of mobile web pages so decided to bite the bullet and advise all new customers that Responsive design was the future and the way to go.
Over this time we have had possibly 4-5 customers ask not to go responsive as they didn’t think it would suit their business website, we tended to agree with them as they were more shopping cart websites and their particular applications didn’t really need the responsive or mobile friendly design.
It seems that this decision back in 2012 has paid off, we have noticed things changing with the ranking of responsive sites for the past 6 months. Anyway Google has decided to favor Responsive Website, you may see in search results Google has placed the term Mobile Friendly beside listings where the website owner has a mobile friendly or responsive website.
Here is what Google have to say in their Webmaster Blog:
Finding more mobile-friendly search results
When it comes to search on mobile devices, users should get the most relevant and timely results, no matter if the information lives on mobile-friendly web pages or apps. As more people use mobile devices to access the internet, our algorithms have to adapt to these usage patterns. In the past, we’ve made updates to ensure a site is configured properly and viewable on modern devices. We’ve made it easier for users to find mobile-friendly web pages and we’ve introduced App Indexing to surface useful content from apps. Today, we’re announcing two important changes to help users discover more mobile-friendly content:
1. More mobile-friendly websites in search results
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. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.
To get help with making a mobile-friendly site, check out our guide to mobile-friendly sites. If you’re a webmaster, you can get ready for this change by using the following tools to see how Googlebot views your pages:
If you want to test a few pages, you can use the Mobile-Friendly Test.
If you have a site, you can use your Webmaster Tools account to get a full list of mobile usability issues across your site using the Mobile Usability Report.
2. More relevant app content in search results
Starting today, we will begin to use information from indexed apps as a factor in ranking for signed-in users who have the app installed. As a result, we may now surface content from indexed apps more prominently in search. To find out how to implement App Indexing, which allows us to surface this information in search results, have a look at our step-by-step guide on the developer site.
