It has been announced that the speed at which a page loads on a mobile device will soon be part of Google’s algorithm for determining ranking. This will be of huge importance for content creators – especially those running campaigns or websites that receive a lot of traffic from mobile devices. Though the new ranking system is still a way off, marketers and strategists should start to plan for the roll-out as soon as possible, making their mobile campaigns as fast to load as possible if they want to maintain high-ranking levels.
The latest news was revealed as Google representative, Gary Illyes, spoke at the Search Marketing Summit. Mr Illyes explained that one of the new key metrics to be used for mobile page ranking would be mobile page speed. Though the system is yet to be introduced, it is in the “planning phase,” and will have repercussions for anyone currently attracting a lot of mobile traffic to their website.
Currently, there is no differentiation between the ranking algorithms used by Google for desktop and mobile search engine ranking pages (SERPs). It means that even if a normally fast loading desktop page runs slowly on a mobile, there is no penalisation for mobile rankings. However, this could soon all change, with organisations needing to analyse their mobile page loading speed extremely carefully if they want to maintain current ranking levels.
Not only is Google set to differentiate the two searches, but it is also working on a completely new mobile search index method. This will launch when the tech giant next updates its algorithms. This changes comes as mobile searches have increased, quickly catching up with desktop searches that, traditionally, far outstripped those conducted on mobile devices.
It seems as if there will be a little time before the new search arrives, however, as Google is still moving through some initial teething problems. A variety of factors can negatively affect rankings, including desktop to mobile conversion and on-page content, so the search engine giant has to make sure everything has been accounted for. Mr Illyes explained “We are losing signals when we convert parts of our index into mobile index because there are fewer tokens on the page.” It’s believed the index already has two years development behind it, and though not expected to arrive imminently; content creators must begin to plan for its eventual release.
Meanwhile, Google has also released a new Android feature; Now on Tap. This tool provides users with a way to pick out and highlight a specific phrase or word in any content. The Now on Tap solution then provides a definition of the selected content and can provide links. Aneto Okonkwo, Google’s Product Manager, said “All of today’s updates are available everywhere you can already use Now on Tap. Word definitions are currently only available in English but will be rolling out to other languages over the coming weeks. We hope these updates help you find what you’re looking for and get things done just a little faster than before.”
