Dean Derhak Advises on Google’s Search Algorithm Change

Dean Derhak, an SAi product director with 19 years in RIP software, management, marketing, sales and engineering technologies, often visits signshops and large-format print businesses to learn how they increase their profits. This month, Dean alerts you to a change Google has made to its web search algorithm that can hurt signshop website traffic and limit local search results. He also explains how you can convert this change into a competitive advantage. Reach Dean at deand@thinksai.com

Today’s consumers often rely on their smartphones to find local business services. To keep your signshop’s phone ringing, sign buyers need to easily acquire your shop information. Unfortunately, Google recently made such access more difficult for millions of small businesses — including signshops — by implementing a dramatic change to its search algorithm. Web experts call the change “Mobile-geddon.”
Why the change?
More than 60% of search traffic is now on mobile devices. To match this trend, Google changed its search algorithm to favor mobile-friendly websites and now ranks them much higher in its search results. Typically, mobile-friendly sites resize to fit the searcher’s screen; mobile sites also feature larger text and easy-to-click links.
Google has demoted search rankings for websites that aren t mobile-friendly.
If not optimized for mobile devices, your website’s present ranking may be much lower than before the change. Shops with mobile optimization now rank higher in searches and are surely acquiring more business because of it.
Here’s an easy way to see if Google’s search algorithm change is affecting your website — visit www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/ and enter your shop’s web address, and then click Analyze.
If your website fails Google’s mobile-friendly tests, the site will tell you why and offer suggestions on how to resolve the issue.
For competitive intelligence, also run this test for your competitors’ websites
To check your search ranking, simply conduct a search result on your smartphone. For example, if your signshop is in Akron, OH, initiate a smartphone google search for “signshops in Akron, Ohio.” Also conduct searches on your specialized sign products — “vehicle wraps in Akron, Ohio” or “business banners in Akron, Ohio,” for example.
Most consumers contact the businesses that first appear on the smartphone screen. If your shop doesn’t appear on the first screen, you’re missing new business. Fortunately, any issues with your website can be addressed by a professional webmaster or web designer.
As a savvy signshop owner, it’s worth the investment to make your website mobile friendly, which will use this new google algorithm change to give you a leg up on your competition.