Is Your Pet Industry website ready for March 2021?
Is your Pet Industry website ready for March 2021?
I don’t know about you, but as soon as I hear a word like ‘algorithm,’ my eyes cross, and my brain starts to scramble.
I remember sitting in freshman algebra, oh so many years ago, thinking, “When am I ever going to use an algorithm?” (Teenage eye roll…)
Well, my friends… the time has come, and we have to think about and deal with the new algorithm Google is planning to roll out in March 2021.
This affects all websites in all industries equally, and it may seem like no big deal at first, but let me assure you… It is a BIG deal.
In March 2021, Google is shifting its indexing priority from desktop-version websites to mobile-version websites.
What is ‘indexing’?
Good question…
According to a Google search about Google indexing, indexing is “when a page is ‘crawled’ by a Googlebot and analyzed for content and meaning.”
This means Google scans the content, images, videos, etc.… on your pet industry website.
If your content is wordy, hard to read because it’s tightly packed in or images and videos are slow to load… this affects how your website is indexed.
Furthermore, according to Google, 53% of mobile users will abandon a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load… 3 SECONDS!
Google’s main focus is on the ‘experience’ of website users/visitors.
For the last several years, organic search with mobile devices has increased drastically. People are using their smartphones, tablets even smartwatches to look up information online.
So… it’s important to know if your pet industry website is:
· Mobile Friendly
· Mobile-Optimized, or
· Mobile-Responsive
Mobile-Friendly:
A mobile-friendly website can be seen on mobile devices but may not format properly on the screen.
All the words might be to one side and unreadable unless you pinch the screen (which could make the print WAY too small…) or have to move it side-to-side as each line is read… this, in turn, will probably frustrate your reader. They will give up and go to the next website for the information they were looking for on your products or services.
Mobile-Optimized:
A mobile-optimized will re-format your website for mobile devices ONLY. This is a good option, but the website pages may look different from your website's desktop version due to how the website gets re-structured. That can be not very clear to some visitors, especially if they are already familiar with your website.
Mobile-Responsive:
This is the best option for people searching for your pet industry website on their mobile devices because a mobile-responsive website will re-format and re-structure itself automatically for any device, regardless of screen size.
This creates the most customized mobile experience for your reader because there is no barrier between what they want to see from your website.
This is a short overview of some important terms and information you’ll need to know for the new Google algorithm roll-out for March 2021.
If you have a Pet Industry website of ANY kind, then you’ll need to check out your website and make sure you’re up to date.
