LOS ANGELES — Webmasters wondering why Google has been so concerned lately with mobility as a ranking signal have an answer: the search giant is now accessed more by mobile than by desktop users, in a variety of important markets — including the U.S. and Japan.
It is a milestone that the company reportedly did not expect to reach until 2016.
“The future of mobile is now,” explains Google AdWords VP Jerry Dischler, underscoring the importance for website owners of ensuring that their sites are fully compatible with mobile devices — if traffic from Google, and overall user satisfaction, is important to them.
While Google did not reveal its actual mobile search volume, published estimates reveal that it responds to more than 100 billion monthly search requests. With a preponderance of mobile searches accounting for at least 50 billion searches per month (or more than seven mobile searches on Google each month for every person on the planet), going mobile is no longer an option, but a fact of life.
Google has invested heavily in mobile technology, including through its popular Android open source operating system, so it was inevitable that it would be among the first to see the writing on the wall — writing that was accompanied by decreasing ad revenues, which provided it with a glaring wake-up call.
According to the Associated Press, Google has seen a prolonged drop in its average ad prices, in part due to many marketers’ unwillingness to pay as much for ads displayed on a mobile device’s smaller screens.
This is an attitude that is changing, however, as these marketers inevitably see the benefit of connecting with customers on the go — for example, while they search for somewhere to dine, or while comparing products at a retailer. In response, Google is now offering new mobile-friendly ad formats that leverage the latest smartphone technology to deliver more engagement, functionality and interactivity.
The company is also encouraging all website owners to ensure that their sites work on mobile devices — offering better search rankings for mobile sites — and when Google “requests” something, it’s usually wise to comply.
For more information on making your website mobile-friendly, click here.