Internet marketers all over the world have been quite confused recently. A pivot everyone expected and was afraid of finally happened. From now on, Google will always take into account the mobile optimization of a website when ranking it. This index will define the placement of websites on the first search page across all devices, mobile, and desktop.
What does a mobile version mean for your business?
If your website doesn’t have a mobile version, forget about the first page of Google search even if your ground there has been firm before. From now on, only websites with a good-working user-friendly mobile version will make it to the top.
If you are familiar with recent digital technology development, the decision of Google is most likely not surprising for you. Mobile traffic has been growing rapidly over the last couple of years, and it is still growing now. Statcounter results show that in 2018, over 52% of users browse web pages from their mobile device rather than from a desktop. This tendency is connected with the significant improvements of the latest mobile operating systems, as well with the improvement of the mobile versions of most of the popular websites.
There is more to the Google update. Over the summer of 2018, Google promises to implement one more change of indexation mechanism. The page load speed of a web page on a mobile device will become another determinative factor in ranking the page.
How will the competition change?
New Google rules don’t cancel the old ones, of course. It means that the quality of your content still matters a lot. However, the competition between relevant resources with high-quality content will become even more fierce. You will need to pay more attention to optimization to make it to the top of the search results.
If you want to get to the top or stay there, it’s about time to think how friendly the mobile version of your website is. If there is no mobile version at all, you risk getting to the pigeonhole of the Internet no one ever visits.
Are you confused about where to start? We have several good examples of traffic leaders to help you figure out how to facilitate your online presence in accordance with the new game rules. Many top websites predicted the change before it actually happened, and turned to PWA (Progressive Web Apps). The PWA technology is being actively promoted by the Google programmers who created it. Its basic parameters are being implemented on iOS devices as well. Giants like AliExpress, The Washington Post, Lancome, and OLX have already created progressive web apps for their business.
PWA in a Nutshell
PWA is an innovative hybrid technology that turns a website into a mobile app to some extent. This means that a given website loads quickly on a mobile device in one click, can be saved on the home screen of your device, updates to the latest version automatically and has the potential of working offline and in the conditions of poor Internet connection. However, PWA allows keeping the features of a website like full content access, convenient interface, and online marketing potential. Native mobile apps can’t have it all.
PWA technology gives businesses an opportunity to create a modern and user-friendly website version that looks good and works well across mobile devices. This version operates similar to an app, but it ranks as a website, which creates limited marketing, advertising and SEO promotion opportunities to the businesses.
So, to rank well on Google search, a website needs to turn to PWA and keep the content relevant and useful. Websites that have already implemented this technology are delighted at the upcoming changes because their rank will only improve. Mobile users find the new technology pretty attractive as well because it gives them an opportunity to browse their favourite websites in a blink of an eye. There is one more great thing about PWA – mobile websites that have this technology do not steal a lot of your device’s memory, they take up to 200 Kb of space max. It gives PWA websites an advantage over regular apps that use a lot of resources of a smartphone. What’s even more interesting, progressive web apps have a push technology that invites the users to visit the website again. This way, a user doesn’t need to subscribe to the notifications or do any other extra moves. Push notifications remind the mobile users to visit a website without annoying them. A website owner can customize these push notifications to tailor them to make the needs of the customers and the business meet each other. As a website owner, you can increase your brand loyalty significantly with the help of this technology.
Is PWA cost-effective?
One more thing you probably worry about is the cost of PWA mobile website development. We have good news for you: development of a progressive web app takes much less time than the development of a regular app. This technology allows you to save money and time and to spend them on marketing and business growth instead. So, if you have been waiting for a sing, here it is – PWA is taking over.
The original source of the article: GRAVITEC