The way that people are using their computer and accessing the internet is changing. More people are using their mobile devices when they surf the net instead of laptops or desktop computers. The mobile devices are becoming more popular as they continue to get faster and more powerful. It is great that people are able to use their mobile devices in new ways, but it also represents a challenge for the websites that want to get people to visit them.

Google plays a large role in the way that websites are designed. Their search engines use algorithms that determine the ranking of a web site. The higher the ranking, the more searchable a web site is. For many years web sites have used search engines optimization techniques to help them raise their ranking. The announcement by Google on April 21st will make all of the people using the SEO techniques rethink what they are doing.

The changes involve the addition of mobile friendliness into the equation that is used to determine the rankings. Web sites that are viewed on a laptop or desktop are not always able to be viewed in the same way on a mobile device. Some web sites may try to overcome this by having different web sites, one for mobile use and one for other computers. They will give these web sites different addresses which can make them harder to find. The better solution is to create a more responsive web site that will work for either a mobile device or a traditional computer. The web site can recognize the difference and allow the visitor to get the version of the web site that is appropriate for the device that is being used.

Google has worked hard to protect the algorithms that they use so people cannot cheat the system. With the decision to include mobile friendliness in the way that the search engine works, Google is also offering help to the web sites that want it.

You can check to see if Google sees your web site as mobile friendly at the following link:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

It is possible to test a few pages to see if they are mobile user friendly and it is also possible to run a mobile usability report to see what is happening on the web site.

Google will also use app indexing in the ranking of web sites. Because Google is the largest search engine being used, these changes mean a lot. If websites want to remain relevant, they need to learn about these changes and address their web site to meet the new demands.