Google Local Mobile Madness: Don't Freak Out Roundup

[Linda Buquet]

<img src="http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/MobileGeddon.jpg" alt="MobileGeddon" width="65%" />​

I know some folks are freaking out. So since it's April 1st, and you only have 20 more days to prepare, I wanted to share some practical advice, much of it directly from Google.

1st I have some Google Hangouts you can watch where Google will explain 1st hand what's coming and what you need to do to prepare. Followed by some of the top articles I've found.

GOOGLE VIDEO: Q&A session for mobile-friendly ranking change

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-0Q4s9ThU0?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



GOOGLE VIDEO: 1. Basics of a Mobile Website for SMBs

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6qpntnNAcqU?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>​

That 2nd video is part of a 4 part series. I don't want to fill this post with videos.
So I'll just link out to YouTube and you can watch the rest here.


Here is a good overview from Search Engine Watch, followed by more coverage.

<a href="http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2398591/-mobilegeddon-is-coming-on-april-21-are-you-ready">"Mobilegeddon" Is Coming on April 21 - Are You Ready? | SEW</a>

Google may have announced the update early, but it hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with details. Webmaster trends analyst Gary Illyes did share a few details in a recent Q&A.

Most notably:

:: Responsive design does not have a ranking benefit
:: Googlebot must be allowed to crawl CSS & JavaScript to pass the "mobile-friendly" test
:: Mobile friendliness is determined at the page level – not sitewide
:: Tablets will not be affected by this update
:: Google is currently working on a dedicated mobile index

Other coverage:

<a href="http://searchengineland.com/how-large-is-googles-mobile-friendly-algorithm-larger-than-panda-or-penguin-217026">How Big Is Google's Mobile-Friendly Algorithm? Bigger Than Panda Or Penguin</a>

<a href="http://searchengineland.com/google-clarifies-the-mobile-friendly-algorithm-will-roll-out-over-a-week-be-a-yesno-response-more-217399">Google Clarifies The Mobile-Friendly Algo Will Roll Out Over a Week, Be a Yes/No Response & More</a>

<a href="http://www.thesempost.com/googles-mobile-ranking-does-not-affect-desktop/">Google's Mobile Ranking Signal Does Not Affect Desktop Searches - The SEM Post</a>

<a href="http://searchengineland.com/google-mobile-friendly-ranking-factor-runs-real-time-page-page-basis-216100">Google: The Mobile-Friendly Ranking Factor Runs In Real-Time & Is On A Page-By-Page Basis</a>

My original post on the subject:
<a href="http://www.localsearchforum.com/google-local/28886-google-mobile-update-what-you-need-know-local-search-engine-optimization.html">The Google Mobile Update - What you Need to Know for Local SEO</a>


What about you?

Are you ready???

P.S. I'm not. My old Catalyst eMarketing site is not even mobile. And my brain just freezes over thinking about it. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. But luckily I don't live by Google rankings like many small SMBs do, so due to lack of time to even think about it, I might have to just live with it for a bit longer.

This forum is my most important site now and it's mobile thanks to TapaTalk.
(And thanks to David, my forum admin who keeps up with all the updates to make it run smoothly.)

Image source: Reddit or Imgur?

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[Linda Buquet]

From Search Engine Land today. They studied 69 Law Firms:

<a href="http://searchengineland.com/mobile-update-small-business-study-shows-nothing-220983">Mobilegeddon A Month Later: Small Business Study Shows.... Nothing Happened</a>