Google’s Mobile Search Update: Two Quick and Free Things You Can Do

How Can Dentists Prepare their Websites for the Upcoming Google Mobile Search Algorithm Change?

With the announcement of Google’s new mobile search update that is slated for April, there are many things you can do to make sure your website is ready – or to at least identify any issues. If you would like to learn more about the terms responsive design and mobile optimized, please review this blog post.

Some of the more in-depth analyses require commercial tools, or a working knowledge of Google Webmaster Tools (GWT). However, you can use the free tools below to get an idea of how your website stands up:

1) Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Type your web address into the box at the link below and see the results. https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
2) Evaluate the speed of your website on a mobile device. When you use this tool make sure you select the “Mobile” tab as seen in the screenshot below.  https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

Important Considerations

If you have a non-responsive website, or an HTML-based website that is not responsive, then you may see this problem flagged by these tools. An HTML (non-Wordpress) based website can still render well and load quickly on a mobile device. And note that every suggestion you read on these reports may or not be practical ones. Just because a patient reports that their denture “slips a bit” – it doesn’t necessarily imply that a full reline is necessary.

Conclusion

Use the above two tools to check to get a general idea of how prepared (or unprepared) your website is for the mobile search algorithm update.