Google to incorporate mobile friendliness into ranking algorithm
In class, we studied the principle of page rank in determining what web pages should be brought to the top of any search. In Barry Schwartz’s article on Search Engine Land, he discusses the effects that mobile web viewing has on search. Google is currently able to go through pages and rendering their interfaces to detect if web pages are poorly optimized for mobile viewing. This includes having small fonts, small buttons or requiring excessive scrolling. Google currently uses this information to improve some aspects of web pages automatically, such as small fonts. The information is not incorporated into the page rank algorithm but that might change soon. Google currently only penalizes pages that cause errors on mobile platforms, but the intention is to also penalize or reward for the user interface aspects that they can now detect.
The article notes that over 50% of the US have web enabled mobile phones that are regularly used for mobile browsing. 61% of those people are not going to return to a poor mobile website. Current ranking factors would not consider this and form an inconvenience for a large search audience. The incorporation of this mobile filter in Google’s search algorithm improves their ability to direct viewers to the content they want to see and will increase their ability to generate revenue through their mobile ads. Historically we have seen that changes in Google’s searching algorithms results in the web industry changing their practices to better their page rank. Changes like this will encourage web developers to better optimize their websites to mobile users and better service the general population.
Google May Add Mobile User Experience To Its Ranking Algorithm