Google has never preannounced an algorithm update before, so when they publicized the mobile algorithm update to go live on April 21st, the digital world trembled with anticipation. Predictions were made and developers everywhere were contracted to make sites mobile-friendly before the deadline.
This morning, Gary Illyes of Google confirmed on Twitter that their latest mobile algorithm, nicknamed “Mobilegeddon,” is fully rolled out. The experts have been testing it over the last few weeks and are offering their assessments of how the chips are falling.
Let’s review the whole Mobilegeddon story and then check in on those chips.
Expectations for Mobilegeddon
The algorithm update was intended to reward websites that are mobile friendly by providing them with a higher rank in search results. Alternatively, websites that are not mobile friendly could expect to be penalized. As noted in a Google blog post, this algorithm would update on a page-by-page basis and would not be universal across a website.
It would only impact mobile phone search results (not tablets.) Many experts believed its significance might outweigh the Panda and Penguin updates, thereby impacting more than 11% of all search results. Google has been encouraging good mobile experiences for years, and now communication about Mobilegeddon indicated significant negative implications for noncompliant websites.
The expected algorithm would be designed for real time, so if a site transitions from unfriendly to friendly in the future, Google could incorporate those changes immediately.
What Happened on April 21st?
We braced ourselves for the end of the world. Experts tested and reported. And ultimately, Mobilegeddon was unimpressive and almost everyone wondered if any updates were actually made.
Google acknowledged that the roll out could take a few weeks to complete so changes would not be immediate. Moz noted that if Google rolled out updates over time, there would be no real way to measure how it impacts mobile search, since ranking naturally changes.
What’s Next?
On the days following Mobilegeddon, no major winners or losers emerged. However, Gary Illyes did indicate on Twitter that “not all pages were indexed yet, so they don’t have new scores. Yet.” This leaves open the possibility of some changes appearing in the next few weeks. But according to Barry Schwartz Search Engine Land, this doesn’t seem likely.
One thing is clear, though: if your site isn’t mobile yet, be advised to think long and hard about changing that. If you aren’t sure about the mobile friendliness of your site, test it. I also recommend reading Danny Sullivan’s Q&A about ways to prepare for Mobilegeddon.
Google is sending a strong signal that it will privilege mobile friendly sites over time.