Mobile optimization continues to be a major part of SEO. With more people accessing the internet through tablets and smartphones, Google favors websites that create good mobile user experiences. One way to achieve these experiences is through a responsive website. This clean, simple page hierarchy is preferred by Google because of its fast crawling times and quick loading across devices.
If you haven’t yet updated your site to be responsive, or you’re still unclear of how responsive web design leads to better SEO, check out these facts. Being responsive is being responsible.
Google wants your site to be responsive.
When Google wants something, you better do it! Not only is Google smart in knowing what web users want, but also you can be rewarded or penalized for your choices. Google recommends having a responsive design because it’s consistent and provides users with positive experiences. When visitors have a good experience, they’re more likely to return to your website, bringing traffic to your site.
Visitors spend more time on your website.
It’s not easy to get visitors to stay on your site, but a responsive design can help move them along. Responsive web design offers a more seamless and enjoyable experience, which means people stay longer. This lowers your bounce rate and increases conversions because users aren’t frustrated trying to resize images or scroll through pages. This flexible design caters to all users, whether they’re sitting at home or catching a train to work.
Link building is made easier and more affordable.
If you have separate mobile and desktop sites, you have two different URLs. The pages create more work because you have to build links separately, and this often leads to low performance. A responsive website has only one URL, so any link that points toward the desktop site will automatically go toward your mobile site. This builds a strong backlink profile and lowers cost.
Content is original and not duplicated.
Having both a desktop site and mobile site means that you have duplicate content on the web. Google doesn’t like duplicate content, and you can be penalized for this thanks to the Panda algorithm update. Having a single URL gives visitors one set of content. It’s also easier to maintain this content, as any edits or changes that are made need to be done on one site only.
Pages have faster load times.
Responsive websites load much faster than dedicated mobile ones. When there are two versions of a website, the mobile browser makes a request and a query is run. With a responsive site, no queries need to be sent to the server, speeding up the loading process significantly. Google prefers faster loading web pages – and so do your users.
Conclusion
Responsive web design offers many benefits to you and your users. It’s also something that Google highly recommends. Given the advantages, it doesn’t make sense to leave your website as is. Fortunately, making the switch to a responsive design is faster, easier and more affordable than ever before. Once you are responsive, you can enjoy improved SEO, boosted rankings and a host of other benefits. If you’ve finally come to the realization that your site needs to be responsive, reach out to a trusted mobile and web development company who can help!
