Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?
I have been talking about the benefits to an insurance agency of having a mobile-friendly website and a mobile app for quite some time. For the most part, my advice has not been taken. Most agency websites look terrible on a mobile device. Moreover, very few insurance agencies have a mobile app.
It is now more important than ever that your website is mobile-friendly.
Why? Because Google says it is important. After April 21, if you want your agency to be found through an online search by consumers, then you have to get serious about mobile.
According to Google Webmaster Central, Google will be rolling out the most significant mobile algorithm change to date:
“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile friendliness as a ranking signal.”
This means that if your website is not mobile friendly then whatever work you’ve done to increase your search ranking will be lost almost immediately.
It is easy to find out what Google thinks about the “mobile friendliness” of your agency website. Simply run your site through Google’s mobile friendly test page.
You should also check your agency website by searching for it on a mobile device — both Android and iOS. If the resulting search has a “mobile friendly” label, then your site complies with Google’s guidelines.
It appears from news reports that this change will analyze mobile compatibility on a page by page basis, rather than a website-wide basis.
Google is also starting to take into account websites that have an associated Android app. Again, Google Webmaster Central said:
“Starting today, we will begin to use information from indexed apps as a factor in ranking for sign-in users who have the app installed. As a result, we may now surface content from index app more prominently in search.”
How important is this? Here’s what Google had to say:
“This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.”
Like it or not, Google controls a large portion of the search marketplace. When they say mobile is important, it would be wise to pay attention. Here are some steps you can take:
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. A responsive website is best.
- Get a mobile app for your agency. I recommend having both an Android and iOS version.
- For the few agents that have an Android app associated with your website, make sure it is indexed as soon as possible.
What have you done to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly? Let me know.
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