google mobile algorithm change

Preparing for the Google Mobile Friendly Algorithm

DON’T FALL OFF A TRAFFIC CLIFF:

2

Brian McDowell

@Brian_McDowell Director of Search Intelligence & Co-Founder

Conductor

SPEAKERS – JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Sheridan Orr

@SheridanOrr Senior Director, Product Marketing

Conductor

#MobileReady @Conductor

3

Use the questions box to submit

questions throughout the

presentation

QUESTIONS

#MobileReady @Conductor

4

· Managing Executive Expectations

· What is Google Doing and Why

· Potential Impact to Your Business

· Actions You Can Take

· Measuring Pre and Post-Update

· Valuable Insights

· Available Resources

· Q + A

AGENDA

#MobileReady @Conductor

5

MANAGE EXECUTIVE EXPECTATIONS.

How are we stacked up against the competition?

We already have our web releases scheduled out for the next 6 months. Why is

this suddenly a priority?

How much revenue is at risk?

We already have a responsive mobile site.

Why should we dedicate resources to this?

#MobileReady @Conductor

6

HOW MUCH IS YOUR GOOGLE SUBSCRIPTION?

#MobileReady @Conductor

7

#MobileReady @Conductor

8

Organic accounts for 37.13% of Website Visits Mobile accounts for 45.19% of Organic Visits

Organic Mobile accounts for 16.78% of Website Visits (37.13 * 0.4519)

*This is an example of Google Analytics data (month of February 2015) for an e-commerce company. Data used with permission.

#MobileReady @Conductor

9

9

16,000 VISITS LOST PER DAY

2.75% CONVERSION RATE

$25.00 REVENUE PER CONVERSION

$11,000.00 DAILY CONTRIBUTION LOSS

$4,015,000.00 ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION LOSS

-15% SITEWIDE CONTRIBUTION LOSS

10

THE COST OF INACTION

11

11 IMAGE SOURCE: http://lemmysbeardwebzine.com/2013/12/02/sonisphere-returns-in-2014-with-iron-maiden-and-metallica-headlining/

You have the stage – ROCK IT!

12

ALIGN YOUR MOBILE WEBSITE FOR THIS CHANGE

13

FIRST THINGS FIRST – CHECK GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS G

OO

GLE

WEB

MA

STER

TO

OLS

EMA

IL

#MobileReady @Conductor

14

IS YOUR WEBSITE MOBILE FRIENDLY?

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Mobile friendly refers to Smart Phones. This does not refer to Feature Phones, Tablets or Desktop.

#MobileReady @Conductor

15

POPULAR CMS INTEGRATIONS HAVE DEDICATED

GOOGLE RECOMMENDATIONS?

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/website-software/

•WordPress •Joomla! •Drupal •Blogger •vBulletin •Tumblr •DataLife Engine •Magento •Prestshop •Bitrix •Google Sites

#MobileReady @Conductor

16

MOBILE CONFIGURATIONS (1,2 & 3 OF 5)

RESPONSIVE DESIGN

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/configurations/responsive-design

•JavaScript Adaptive – GOOGLE PREFERRED (when JS required). •All Devices are served the same HTML, CSS, JavaScript content •JavaScript execution changes sites behavior

•Combined Detection – Uses both JavaScript and Server Side Detection •Different content / HTML is served to different user agents (devices) •“Vary:User-agent” HTTP Response Header should be used in this case

•Dynamically Served JavaScript – User agent sets JavaScript location •Same HTML is served •JavaScript served from a dynamic location (different URL)

Responsive serves all devices with the same code that adjusts to screen resolution

#MobileReady @Conductor

17

MOBILE CONFIGURATIONS (1,2 & 3 OF 5)

WHY DOES GOOGLE LIKE RESPONSIVE DESIGN?

• Makes sharing content easier by linking to a single URL • Simplifies Indexing by not needing correlations between desktop and mobile pages • Requires less engineering time to maintain content • Reduces load times by eliminating the need for mobile redirects • Saves Google time as only one Googlebot user agent is needed to crawl your site

#MobileReady @Conductor

18

MOBILE CONFIGURATIONS (1,2 & 3 OF 5)

RESPONSIVE DESIGN: META VIEWPORT TAG

The meta viewport tag must be included in the head of the HTML document for pages that are optimized for a variety of devices. The meta viewport tag sends signals to the browser on the dimensions of the page and how to scale the content.

#MobileReady @Conductor

19

MOBILE CONFIGURATIONS (4 OF 5)

DYNAMIC SERVING

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/configurations/dynamic-serving

Dynamic serving is often confused with combined detection responsive design.

With Dynamic Serving, the same URL is served to the user but with altered HTML. Mobile friendly content is “hidden” for a desktop user agent. These configurations must use the Vary HTTP header. The Vary HTTP Header is a server response that tells the browser about a possible variance in content based on user agent.

#MobileReady @Conductor

20

MOBILE CONFIGURATIONS (5 OF 5)

SEPARATE URLS

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/configurations/separate-urls

PROPER 1:1 ASSOCIATIONS ARE NEEDED IN THE SEPARATE URL MODEL

On the DESKTOP page, add: <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)” href="http://m.example.com/page-1" >

NOTE: The CSS media query to direct when Google should use the alternate URL. See reference slide for more information about CSS media queries

On the MOBILE page, the required annotation should be:

<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.example.com/page-1" >

#MobileReady @Conductor

21

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

SPEED AND LOAD TIMES

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

#MobileReady @Conductor

22

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

SPEED AND LOAD TIMES

https://developers.google.com/speed/docs/insights/mobile

“we must deliver and render the above the fold (ATF) content in under one second, which allows the user to begin interacting with the page as soon as possible.” ~Google

•Server must render the response (< 200 ms) •Number of redirects should be minimized •Number of roundtrips to first render should be minimized •Avoid external blocking JavaScript and CSS in above-the-fold content •Reserve time for browser layout and rendering (200 ms) •Optimize JavaScript execution and rendering time

#MobileReady @Conductor

23

· JavaScript Resizing is not always the best option as it can increase load times.

· Test and consider the <picture> element for dynamic loading (responsive design)

· Allows for resolution thresholds

· Accepts relative sizes based on viewport width

OPTIMIZE YOUR IMAGES

#MobileReady @Conductor

24

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

IMPROPER REDIRECTS

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/common-mistakes/faulty-redirects

Google Webmaster Tools – Crawl – Crawl Errors – Smart Phone

#MobileReady @Conductor

25

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

DO NOT BLOCK JS, CSS OR IMAGE FILES

http://www.googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2014/05/understanding-web-pages-better.html

“If resources like JavaScript or CSS in separate files are blocked (say, with robots.txt) so that Googlebot can’t retrieve them, our indexing systems won’t be able to see your site like an average user. We recommend allowing Googlebot to retrieve JavaScript and CSS so that your content can be indexed better. This is especially important for mobile websites, where external resources like CSS and JavaScript help our algorithms understand that the pages are optimized for mobile.” ~Google 05/23/2014

#MobileReady @Conductor

26

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

BLOCKED / HIDDEN CONTENT

“This provides users with a poor mobile experience!” ~Google

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/common-mistakes/unplayable-content

•Use proper HTML5 standards for animations •Use video-embedding that can be played on all devices •Consider using transcripts

#MobileReady @Conductor

27

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

TRUNCATING CONTENT (RESPONSIVE)

Select your breakpoints without hiding your content. “Don’t simply hide content just because you can’t fit it on screen.” ~Google

http://upstatement.com/blog/2012/01/how-to-approach-a-responsive-design/ https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/layouts/rwd-fundamentals/how-to-choose-breakpoints

#MobileReady @Conductor

28

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

404 HANDLING

If a page on your site doesn’t have a smartphone equivalent, keep users on the desktop page. Showing the content the user was looking for is a much better experience than showing an error page.

Google Webmaster Tools – Crawl – Crawl Errors – Smart Phone

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/common-mistakes/mobile-only-404s

#MobileReady @Conductor

29

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

RELEVANT LINKS TO MOBILE PAGES

#MobileReady @Conductor

30

MOBILE OPTIMIZATION

USE PROPER ADVERTISING FOR APPS

Use a simple banner to promote your app inline with the page’s content. This banner can be implemented using Smart

App Banners for Safari or an HTML banner image.

#MobileReady @Conductor

31

Ensure your organization is updated about the changes and potential impact.

Test your site to see if Google views you as mobile friendly or not

Double check your CMS specific recommendations

Check speed and load times

Optimize your images

Check your redirects

Ensure you haven’t blocked Java, CSS or image files

Check where you are sending searches (If you don’t have a mobile page, send to

desktop)

Ensure you have proper advertising for apps

Monitor and report fluxuations

CHECKLIST FOR SUCCESS

#MobileReady @Conductor

32

MEASURING AND UNDERSTANDING THE DELTAS

33

ARE YOU MOBILE FRIENDLY ?

34

GOOGLE SEARCH UPDATE

#MobileReady @Conductor

35

SEARCHLIGHT MOBILE FRIENDLY REPORTING

35

#MobileReady @Conductor

36

SEARCHLIGHT MOBILE FRIENDLY REPORTING

36

#MobileReady @Conductor

37

GLOBAL INSIGHTS

#MobileReady @Conductor

38

HOW ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORS?

39

COMPETITIVE INSIGHTS

#MobileReady @Conductor

40

EXECUTIVE UPDATES

40

#MobileReady @Conductor

41

QUESTION AND ANSWER

42

· Use the questions box to submit

questions throughout the

presentation.

· We will send you a copy of the

Q+A following the webinar as

well as the recording.

JUST A REMINDER

#MobileReady @Conductor

43

· Managing Executive Expectations

· What is Google Doing and Why

· Potential Impact to Your Business

· Actions You Can Take

· Measuring Pre and Post-Update

· Valuable Insights

· Available Resources

RECAP

#MobileReady @Conductor

44

Brian McDowell

@Brian_McDowell Director of Search Intelligence & Co-Founder

Conductor

SPEAKERS

Sheridan Orr

@SheridanOrr Senior Director, Product Marketing

Conductor

#MobileReady @Conductor

45

REFERENCES Google Mobile SEO for Developers: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/ Responsive Design: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/configurations/responsive-design Dynamic Serving: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/configurations/dynamic-serving Separate URLs: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/configurations/separate-urls Vary:User-agent response header: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/configurations/dynamic-serving Meta Viewpoint Tag: https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/layouts/rwd-fundamentals/set-the-viewport CSS Media Queries: https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/layouts/rwd-fundamentals/use-media-queries?hl=en Dynamic images: https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/media/images/images-in-markup#art-direction-in-responsive-images-with-picture Responsive Images: http://responsiveimages.org/#implementation Less then a second mobile page load times: http://calendar.perfplanet.com/2012/make-your-mobile-pages-render-in-under-one-second/ Google Page Load Times: https://developers.google.com/speed/docs/insights/mobile Google Page Speed Insights: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ Do not block page elements: http://www.googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2014/05/understanding-web-pages-better.html Smart App Banners for Safari: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/AppleApplications/Reference/SafariWebContent/PromotingAppswithAppBanners/PromotingAppswithAppBanners.html

#MobileReady @Conductor