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After a year and a half of talking about a mobile-first index, Google announced last month that it has started rolling out mobile-first indexing for websites. Here’s a snippet of what they recently shared on their blog:
So, what does this mean for you as a field service business owner?
First a little more clarity around mobile-first indexing. What it simply means is that Google is changing its algorithms (or its set of rules) so that it will start looking at the mobile version (vs. desktop) of a website’s content, to rank a company’s website and its pages.
What’s also important to note is that Google will rank its search results listings based on the mobile version of a site’s content even when people are searching from a desktop. This is because Google says most people are searching on a mobile device. One of the most recent stats shows, in fact, that 60% of all online searches are carried out on mobile.
To business owners: If you’ve got a mobile-friendly website, you won’t have to do as much as those with old or outdated sites, but you’ll still want to make sure you apply website best practices across your mobile pages.
As an example, ensure you’re using high-quality content, images and videos, which can all be crawled by Google. Check out more tips to improve your website ranking from Google here.
Some service companies may offer a poor mobile experience or may not even have a mobile-friendly site at all.
If you’ve been resisting a website upgrade or haven’t seen it as a priority in the past, you’ll want to reconsider.
This is especially true if search is a big channel for your business as it is for most field service companies. Google’s changes mean it will only look at the mobile version of your site and if it doesn’t find you, it means your customers and potential customers won’t find you on search either. Instead they’ll find your competitors.
Keep in mind, it’s not always necessary to hire an expensive web developer or company to upgrade your website. You can be mindful of your costs by seeking out a college or high school student who is looking to build his portfolio or turning to a website builder tool (we’ve featured the three best website builds for field service pros here).
Is your service company ready for Google’s move to mobile-first indexing? What grade would you give your website today? We’d love to hear from you; leave us a comment below!
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Last modified: April 20, 2018
