I warned you in January to make your website mobile friendly. I predicted it would happen in 2015, and unfortunately it came true in April. I say unfortunately because Google’s announcement to re-rank the way their search engine delivers search results can be drastic for those businesses without a mobile-friendly website.
Let’s start at the beginning. When you use Google to find a business (i.e. an auto body shop, restaurant, insurance agent, any Glendale business), your search results were delivered regardless of the type of business website. In April, Google decided to deliver results that had mobile-friendly sites BEFORE listing other sites. Note, this is only happening when searching from a mobile device, which makes up 60 percent of the web traffic.
Now, think of a recent search you performed and the results you received. Did you go past page 1? Page 2? A third of web traffic does not go past page one. What does this mean to your business? If your business does not offer a mobile-friendly site, you’ll end up buried on pages well after those with mobile sites. Consumers will not click through pages to find your business. If you were highly ranked previous to this change, your results will change overnight.
How can you prepare your business? Simply put, create a mobile-friendly site. This does not need to be a costly project. There are a few things you can do on a budget. Check out bmobilized.com. They offer to optimize your site for mobility for a nominal monthly fee. If you are a WordPress user, use the WPtouch Mobile Plugin. Either of these tools do not require an “IT” background. Fairly easy as a “click, click, go” approach. I would recommend reviewing some best practices. CIO Magazine has an article, http://goo.gl/pO0c22, recommending ways to make your business mobile-friendly. Mobility is driving a higher percentage of web traffic each year. Your business needs to be positioned to capture this audience. Don’t let your business website disappear!
I’m still on a cable-free kick. HBO Now was launched recently. For a monthly fee, much less than a cable provider, HBO can be streamed to your device. If only the other cable channels could follow in their footsteps. I would enjoy hearing from readers that are experimenting with kicking cable.
I’ve never been accused of being a green thumb, however I do give working on my lawn and garden an honest effort each season. With the flip of the calendar to May, it’s time to plant and fix the bald spots on my grass. I struggle to identify plants and flowers. If you do as well, take a leaf and place a white background behind it. Using your phone, take a photo and submit it to Leafsnap for identification. You’ll have an idea of what is growing in your yard. I don’t recommend this for poison ivy.
Garden Squared is an app that will assist you in planning where to plant your veggies within a given space. Throughout the year, I’m not certain what to place on my lawn. Do I use compost or fertilizer? Are they even the same thing? If you struggle with this topic, try My Lawn from Scotts. It will create a lawn care program based on the time of year, as well as recommendations of what your lawn needs to look green and healthy.
If your allergies are taking a toll on you, check out WedMD Allergy. It provides allergy information based on your area and gives treatment recommendations. AllergyManager offers an allergy forecast. The layout is a matrix of the allergy forecast along with what will be the result of the forecast, such as a runny nose, headache or another annoying symptom.
Allergies, gardening and Google changing their search results rankings are enough to give anyone a headache. Hang in there and enjoy the sunshine!
Do you have a favorite app you’d like to share? Contact Brian at brian@brianzabro ski.com, on Twitter @BrianZab or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/brianzab.
Brian, a Corporate Account Executive with NetSuite, has spent nearly 20 years in the telecommunications and software industry. Businesses often have the same concerns: How do I increase my revenue and profit? How do I attract great talent? Am I easy to do business with? Is it simple to access my business information? If you’re a business that would like to learn how Box, GoPro, Groupon and FitBit have used NetSuite to answer these questions, then please contact Brian.