It makes sense if the bakery or shoe repair shop down the street isn’t ready for Google’s recent mobile algorithm changes. But businesses in the Fortune 500?
Indeed. Recent research by Merkle | RKG claims nearly half of Fortune 500 sites aren’t Google standard mobile-friendly.
Merkle | RKG’s study also determined that Internet Retailer Top 500 websites were in much better shape, driven by consumer demand for mobile-optimized websites.
“Even Fortune 500 companies that did have Google-approved mobile sites weren’t necessarily following Google’s recommendation to use responsive design; 70 percent were using m. or distinct mobile URLs,” notes eMarketer.
Google’s new mobile algorithm should goose the tech folks at Fortune 500 companies. Without some updates, their mobile-unfriendly sites will negatively affect their rankings in search results. And those companies should know what happens to firms who fall from first positions in search.
It matters big time, even for the Fortune 500 folks. For the first time — in 2016 — a majority of U.S. consumers will conduct searches on a mobile phone at least once per month (it’s slated to be about 49.0 percent in 2015), according to eMarketer stats.
