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Well apparently the days of saying Design is not important to SEO are coming to a close.

by Mike Anthony
26 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Might sound like small change but beyond the surface of it this is pretty big news ( well if you not a WP/CMS only user)

Google May Add Mobile User Experience To Its Ranking Algorithm

Designing sites for multiple screen sizes tablets and phones is standard now but a pain.... Now some of what you would call design is pretty much a must for SEO. Google is not content to just see markup anymore.

Changing times.
#apparently #close #coming #days #design #important #seo
  • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
    Meh, if you aren't building a site with mobile in mind anymore I'm not sure what the hell you're doing. Then again - I'm a CMS guy to begin with

    That having been said, with how many mobile users there are now, it only makes sense for Google to favor a site built to provide a superior mobile experience.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by godoveryou View Post

      Meh, if you aren't building a site with mobile in mind anymore I'm not sure what the hell you're doing. Then again - I'm a CMS guy to begin with
      I'd say sure if it were talking just about compatibility but if they are going to be looking at Ux like "is the interface confusing to mobile users?" "buttons too small"

      then even some CMs based sites can take a hit.
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      • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
        Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

        I'd say sure if it were talking just about compatibility but if they are going to be looking at Ux like "is the interface confusing to mobile users?" "buttons too small"

        then even some CMs based sites can take a hit.
        Well, yeah. I meant to imply more than just simple compatibility in my initial reply. At this point I spend a good 10-20 minutes playing with a demo version of a theme on my phone before I'll buy it for just that reason.

        If buttons are small or the navigation is obscured in some way, I move on no matter how in love I am with the desktop or tablet display of the theme.

        At this point, it only makes sense to be concerned with these kinds of things because of how much mobile traffic there is. While every niche is different of course, I see between 35-60% of my users browsing on mobile devices and its particularly high in the P/E niche unless it's in the middle of the day (11am-4pm.)

        I guess all I'm getting at is if you are already built on WP for instance, this will take a little work and some time playing with demo sites but it's not a really huge deal. I don't see it being one anyways...

        It's just another part of the game we play with Google and as user habits evolve.

        But, to be fair, I'm probably biased with my opinion here since I've moved in this direction awhile ago and most of my site migrations (theme based changes like featured images, etc) are done already. It's probably a bigger deal if someone is facing having to rebuild all of their sites over the next few months.
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        • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
          I'm probably not articulating what I think is notable about it. I agree mobile is a part of the landscape and having good usability is a no brainer but previous to this we did not have to consider what GOOGLE considers good UX and its google - They are not going to tell us their algo on it.

          So yeah I still think its notable that they are going to take design options that previously the public at large determined as good or bad UX and make a determination themselves.

          As an example of how design already has been affected - there was a Joomla template provider I loved but they had the unfortunate habit of using large above the fold graphics - you guessed it. I saw definite signs that google confused them as ads.

          As an example closer to home WF has some tiny buttons and navigation when you view it on tablets. Oh it fits but as its small buttons and scrolling would be an issue and soon could be a ranking factor.
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          • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
            Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

            As an example of how design already has been affected - there was a Joomla template provider I loved but they had the unfortunate habit of using large above the fold graphics - you guessed it. I saw definite signs that google confused them as ads.
            This is a little off the topic, but I'm starting to think Google is going to have to change their stance on the whole "above the fold" content. I can see them continuing to target too many ads above the fold, but they have kind of hinted they don't just want sites to limit ads, but they want to see legit content there too.

            However, there has been a trend in web development over the past 2 years or so where more and more businesses are building websites where above the fold there is little more than images, animations, and a few headlines. I'm seeing it more and more. I don't think Google is going to be able to keep saying that such a design provides "bad user experience" when it is everywhere.
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            • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
              Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

              I'm probably not articulating what I think is notable about it. I agree mobile is a part of the landscape and having good usability is a no brainer but previous to this we did not have to consider what GOOGLE considers good UX and its google - They are not going to tell us their algo on it.

              So yeah I still think its notable that they are going to take design options that previously the public at large determined as good or bad UX and make a determination themselves.
              Yep, I see what you are getting at now.

              I agree, it's a little questionable and even concerning that now they are going to be totally dictating site design in that way. Humorously, it may actually hurt innovation in layout since then everyone will be trying to squeeze into whatever the publicly understood 'preferred' layout is....

              Which you're also right, they probably won't directly tell us.

              Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

              This is a little off the topic, but I'm starting to think Google is going to have to change their stance on the whole "above the fold" content. I can see them continuing to target too many ads above the fold, but they have kind of hinted they don't just want sites to limit ads, but they want to see legit content there too.

              However, there has been a trend in web development over the past 2 years or so where more and more businesses are building websites where above the fold there is little more than images, animations, and a few headlines. I'm seeing it more and more. I don't think Google is going to be able to keep saying that such a design provides "bad user experience" when it is everywhere.
              I'm not sure where I am on this whole thing anymore to be honest. I agree with what your saying and had historically shoved as much text content as I could high on the page, above the fold.

              The past few projects though, I've been using themes with those giant (and you might even say obnoxious) images between the post title and the post content. I go balls-out on writing 200+ word image descriptions and large captions, etc - but I have no idea if it makes a difference. The thought was to get some form of text content up there at least, even if it wasn't immediately viewable (like with image descriptions which you have to let the mouse hover over the image to see.)

              Anyways, I have (yet) seen a difference in SERP performance. Of course, as the three of us well know, that doesn't mean a whole lot at this point... at least not until 6-12 months pass as least. I'm just putting it out there as something that's going on on my end as it pertains to the topic.
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            • Profile picture of the author deezn
              Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

              This is a little off the topic, but I'm starting to think Google is going to have to change their stance on the whole "above the fold" content. I can see them continuing to target too many ads above the fold, but they have kind of hinted they don't just want sites to limit ads, but they want to see legit content there too.

              However, there has been a trend in web development over the past 2 years or so where more and more businesses are building websites where above the fold there is little more than images, animations, and a few headlines. I'm seeing it more and more. I don't think Google is going to be able to keep saying that such a design provides "bad user experience" when it is everywhere.
              I don't think their stance reflected their algorithm anyway. Google Las Vegas Car Accident Attorney and consistently at the top if not #1 is

              Naqvi Injury Law: Voted #1 Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney

              There's almost no content on the whole damn page.
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        • Profile picture of the author online only
          Originally Posted by godoveryou View Post

          Well, yeah. I meant to imply more than just simple compatibility in my initial reply. At this point I spend a good 10-20 minutes playing with a demo version of a theme on my phone before I'll buy it for just that reason.

          If buttons are small or the navigation is obscured in some way, I move on no matter how in love I am with the desktop or tablet display of the theme.
          I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but once my WP sites start to get traffic, I always make sure it's responsible on every table/phone out there. Plus, I go ahead and make sure it works on every fri***n browser in the world. Even on IE5.2 Perhaps it's a bit overkill, but I just don't want to lose leads.

          I use codeable.io guys for such tasks. Highly recommended.
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          • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
            Originally Posted by online only View Post

            I use codeable.io guys for such tasks. Highly recommended.
            Oh now you are just giving away all of the secrets

            I've never done anything through them but I've heard amazing things from others as well.
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          • Profile picture of the author yukon
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            Originally Posted by online only View Post

            I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but once my WP sites start to get traffic, I always make sure it's responsible on every table/phone out there. Plus, I go ahead and make sure it works on every fri***n browser in the world. Even on IE5.2 Perhaps it's a bit overkill, but I just don't want to lose leads.

            I use codeable.io guys for such tasks. Highly recommended.
            Try browsershots.org, there's a few others If all your looking for is cross browser testing.
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    • Profile picture of the author RemingtonSteele
      Originally Posted by godoveryou View Post

      Meh, if you aren't building a site with mobile in mind anymore I'm not sure what the hell you're doing.
      Tell that to Motorola.

      If you look at their B2C site (motorola.com) and then at their B2B site (motorolasolutions.com), you can see that they take a different approach depending on the market. The B2B site doesn't have a "responsive" design, nor does it need to. While mobile-friendly designs provide a better experience for mobile users, there's no point in creating a responsive design if mobile users aren't your target market, as in the case of Motorola's enterprise clientele.
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  • Profile picture of the author SEOWizard417
    Doubt it will be a big factor but you should be building sites with mobile in mind anyways. Even WP themes are available with responsive designs now so there is no reason not to.
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  • Profile picture of the author jinx1221
    I wonder if Google can tell if visitors are viewing or searching from a PC or a Mobile device. Possibly rankings won't change if the search is coming from a PC vs Mobile, or rankings from searches from mobile may be higher if the sites are optimized for mobile devices?
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    • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
      Originally Posted by jinx1221 View Post

      I wonder if Google can tell if visitors are viewing or searching from a PC or a Mobile device. Possibly rankings won't change if the search is coming from a PC vs Mobile, or rankings from searches from mobile may be higher if the sites are optimized for mobile devices?
      Sure they can. All of that information is pretty easily gotten...

      Things like operating system, mobile device (and if so which such as Samsung S3, S4, S5, Note or iPhone 4, 5 or Windows Phone) browser used, etc etc etc.... That's not a problem for them to get from a live user.
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    • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
      Originally Posted by jinx1221 View Post

      I wonder if Google can tell if visitors are viewing or searching from a PC or a Mobile device. Possibly rankings won't change if the search is coming from a PC vs Mobile, or rankings from searches from mobile may be higher if the sites are optimized for mobile devices?
      Just to touch on this again, you will notice that Google is displaying mobile results when searching from a mobile, which should provide absolute confirmation that yes, they detect and account for it.

      This is actually new to me in terms of directly displaying mobile-soecific results and might encourage anyone who hasn't moved to fully mobile-usable (ie, beyond simple compatibility or responsiveness) to do so, quickly.

      Image was way oversized - see:
      http://s13.postimg.org/o1nb4ikyf/Screenshot_2014_10_10_11_36_19.png
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  • Profile picture of the author FranksToys
    I wouldn't be surprised if it affected mobile searches significantly, but I doubt general searches will see much of a boost (or drop) by not being mobile friendly.

    Either way my sites are all responsive, so I'm set.
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  • Profile picture of the author tjaysen70
    yeah dude, mobile search volume will surpass desktop search, just a matter of time. Especially local search.

    Just make your site responsive, using joomla or wordpress, and it will look fine on a mobile device. You can also put code in there that will eliminate the header info so it looks better on mobile.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by tjaysen70 View Post

      Just make your site responsive, using joomla or wordpress, and it will look fine on a mobile device.

      I'll pass on that. Relying on one or two CMS and particularly needing everything to be WP is one of the things I think is holding many marketers back. Its the tail wagging the dog. There are lots of responsive designs on the net without having to pigeon hole your whole business to one or two CMS
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      • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
        Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

        I'll pass on that. Relying on one or two CMS and particularly needing everything to be WP is one of the things I think is holding many marketers back. Its the tail wagging the dog. There are lots of responsive designs on the net without having to pigeon hole your whole business to one or two CMS
        You're not wrong.

        I do feel that the benefits of a properly coded, HTML5 theme combined with properly coded plugins and real hosting (hardware) are pretty numerous.

        But overall, like I said - you're not wrong. It's growth has been beneficial and equally a sticking point in a sense.

        I will continue to use it though because it's fast, effective and profitable in my deployments. Sure I could do it without WP I'm sure, but... I'm just not motivated to go down that road I suppose.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulgl
    Of course google would favor a mobile enhanced site, all things being equal,
    if one was indeed searching from mobile.

    It would be off the table if one was searching from a desktop/laptop.

    CMS has squat to do with anything. If your CMS cannot/does not do things
    dynamically, shame on your CMS. Ditch it and get a real one, or code yourself.

    What's funny, is that coding between the two becomes quite easy. Google even
    gives you the friggin line of code to add to make it easier!

    That is, if you can actually place the code yourself....

    Any coder, webmaster, or CMS should readily be able to create a mobile
    version. That IS NOT rocket science. Very little is involved.

    If what MikeA is really is talking about, is having a layout that is more
    friendly to a mobile user, it's not necessarily for a mobile user. If that
    "better" interface is actually better, then it's better across the board.
    (windows 8 notwithstanding. That is a piece of crap)

    Google itself uses this more "mobile-friendly" interface already across the
    board. And that, would be friggin easy also with a real CMS or doing it
    yourself.

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Paul back in the day you used to have something decent to say at least half the time. Its getting to the point now where thats like 10% of the time and you are just bellyaching to bellyache.

      I don't know what world you are living in but there are PLENTY of great designs that are not a matter of adding some code and Voila! You have a great Mobile UX. In many cases designers are designing mobile designs to load separately when mobile browsers are detected. This is particularly the case where there is dynamic data and form filling that is being utilized.

      Seriously your posts these days all read like the divorced - why'd she leave with another man - grumpy wanna be professor who writes just to type the word crap and moan how the whole world besides himself is filled with morons.

      Try Match.com Bro!! You are still in your prime Don Juan . I'm sure theres a smoking hot food (or any kind of) critic out there that will set your heart on fire.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
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    I don't have time to read all this (thread/article) but it looks like an interesting subject.

    Obviously everyone & their brother owns a phone so there's traffic but some niches don't really need mobile, example If I'm running a site like dafonts (yes there's money in fonts) then most traffic is probably browsing from a desktop while working on projects in Photoshop, CMS theme development, etc... (Mac/PC based traffic).

    In that example I would still want a mobile ready theme but I'm betting most traffic is desktop based. Just an example that the internet isn't a cut & dry situation. Customize your site based on your own traffic, not other peoples traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author godoveryou
    Relevant to the discussion - here's a new twist: Google Non-Mobile Friendly Icon Being Testing In Mobile Search Results
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