Google's mobilegeddon may 2015

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GOOGLE’S MOBILEAGEDDONIs your website ready?

Meet your presenters

• Michael Motherwell, Search Director @ Lined Media

• Who I Am & Why I Claim “Expertship”

• What Is This All About?

• How Google Ranks Pages

• What is Known & Unknown

• Does It Affect You?

• What Should You Do?

Feature Presentation

Who Is Michael Motherwell?• Got an IT Degree In 2001• Dotcom crash happened• Couldn’t find a “traditional” IT job• Discovered SEO via a job posting• Had a “Light bulb moment” about why my sites failed• Yadda Yadda Yadda• Have worked In Search Ever Since

What’s All The Fuss?• February 26th, 2015, Google announced a mobile algorithm change

set for April 21st • googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/finding-more-mo

bile-friendly-search.html

• Google plans to, in their words, make “more mobile-friendly websites in search results”

• This excites SEOs, as it gives them the chance to “create content” (which is king) and to talk at events like this (yes, there is a subtext there)

• This scares everyone else, as names like “Mobilegeddonpocalypse” pop up.

Google Done Did A Good Thing

How Google Ranks PagesOriginally, there was one algorithm for all searches• Pre Google: “Relevance” – She who uses the Word most, WINS!• Early Google: “Relevance” X Importance – Use the word, and

have the most links

Google Today: there are hundreds of subtle variations:• Recent Google: Relevance X Importance (X Special, Query

Specific Factors)

Special Factors include:

1. Page speed

2. User details (Location, device etc)

3. Mobile factors

4. Specific search elements

5. User feedback

Mobilegeddonpocalypse,

Affected Only Mobile

Searches

What Happened & Some Confusion

Who Was Affected?Impacted Mobile Searches ONLY

What fraction this is for individual sites can be determined via Analytics, e.g. it may be a problem that is 80% of traffic, it might be 10%.

Severity Was MisstatedGoogle has said it affected more SERPs than any change in history, but the change were subtle, e.g. people didn’t disappear, they dropped a few places.

This is like everyone having their tax rate increased by 0.1% - it would affect a lot of people – in essence everyone - but no one, single person a lot.

Good NewsGoogle decides as it crawls each individual page if it is mobile friendly.

Changes you make will have (fairly) immediate effect, so this is not as disastrous as other updates on an individual level.

What Actually Happened?

How Do I Know If It Affected Me?

Sign Up For Webmaster Toolshttps://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en

Webmaster Tools

Mobile Usability

What Should I Do?

Fix Google’s Suggestions• Most will be self evident for a Designer/developer, but here are

some good links to send them JIC: https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/layouts/rwd-fund

amentals/

Mobile usability: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6101188

BUT There are TWO specific SEO Changes:

Don’t Block CSS JavaScript via Robots.txt DO NOT BLOCK CSS OR JavaScript

User-agent: *

Disallow: /css

Disallow: /javascript

Disallow: /images

If You Use An M SiteMake Sure You Redirect Google’s UAs

• http://m.linedmedia.com.au • https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1061943?hl=en

Feedback Loop: Test Your Site• https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Feedback Loop: Test Your Site

Wrapping This Up1. Get Webmaster Tools - https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

2. See if Google has flagged your site

3. If Google has, Fix the errors

4. Test the individual pages https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly

5. Make SURE:

i. You DO NOT Block CSS JS in you robots.txt

ii. For M Sites, you redirect the Google Uas

Some Reading On SEO1. Learn

i. https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

ii. Google’s Advice

iii. https://moz.com/learn/seo

2. Some Tools

i. Find Relevant Keywords

ii. https://moz.com/researchtools/ose/ - Research your links

3. Sign up

1. https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en - WMT

2. www.Google.com/analytics - Analytics

4. Find This Slide

Lined MediaSuite 7, 174 Pacific Highway

North Sydney, NSW02 8021 3384

Thanks for your time.Let’s keep talking

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