This is not the first time Google has come out in favor of a more mobile-friendly search experience. Since last year, Google has officially supported mobile-websites and they have introduced App Indexing, which crawls deep links within certain apps and surfaces them in search results.

Today, Google made 2 significant announcements regarding mobile-friendly websites and their algorithm.



 

First, starting April 21, Google says they will continue to expand the use of mobile-friendliness as a search engine ranking signal. From Google's Webmaster Central Blog:

"This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices."

Second, Google will continue to factor in content from apps in their algorithm.

"Starting today, we will begin to use information from indexed apps as a factor in ranking for signed-in users who have the app installed," said Google.

In the past, having a mobile app or a mobile-friendly website was mainly recommended for user experience. As Google continues to blur the lines between SEO-friendly and user-friendly and show more mobile-friendly websites and content within mobile apps in search results, having a plan in place for mobile has become necessary.

If your company or brand needs assistance building a mobile-website, building a mobile app, and boosting your search engine ranking, contact our experts here.