As smartphones continue to improve, people can find that they use them more frequently, and for many different tasks. Because of this, you should expect people in your area to look for a nearby dentist, or look into a recent dental problem, by searching for information on their phone or tablet. Google certainly expects people to use their phones and tablets in these (and many other) situations – they are transitioning to mobile-first indexing. This means that a site is evaluated based on the way it functions on mobile devices. We provide our clients with responsive sites, which means their pages will automatically adjust to fit a mobile device’s smaller screen, while retaining all the same information. This can ensure that your site is easy to navigate on mobile platforms, and it can ensure your SEO is not hurt by the move to mobile-first indexing!
Google Cares About Your Experience On Your Mobile Device
In order to provide people with the most useful results, Google has emphasized the importance of providing people with results pages that feature mobile-friendly links. If a site is hard to navigate, or if information is missing in the mobile setting, people can be dissatisfied with the results of their search.
Our reliance on mobile devices for online browsing is hardly new. With that said, solutions for making sites mobile-friendly have changed over time. With a responsive site, you give mobile users the optimal experience you have created for desktop users, while making the page easy to navigate. Setting up a second url for mobile users, or relying on dynamic serving (where you have both a desktop and mobile site, but one URL for each) can make it harder for you to rank well. Because Google’s approach to ranking sites relies on their mobile pages, you want to avoid confusion from extra URLs or pages, and you certainly want to make sure your mobile site has all of the meta information and site information available!
Why You Should Care About The Move To Mobile-First Indexing
Is your site currently being ranked under mobile-first indexing? It is possible Google has not moved you to this new standard yet, but this is meant to be the new standard for everyone’s pages. The sooner you can make adjustments to provide a better mobile experience, the better off you can be. If you have already been changed over to this new standard, and you have not made adjustments to make your website better for mobile users, your SEO may have already been negatively impacted!
Understanding The Value Of A Responsive Site
Would you be happy with a waiting area that was dirty, cluttered, or otherwise unwelcoming? Obviously this is not the first impression you want to give someone when they arrive at your office! Keep this in mind when you think about your current website – when someone finds you in their online results for dental care, but find it hard to navigate your page on their smartphone, they can leave to look for a different link, and never return.
With a responsive site, you can make navigating your page easier for people on mobile devices. They can still see everything that you want to include on your website, but it can be automatically condensed to improve their experience. This approach can make a better first impression on people, while also making it easier to sustain good SEO over time. You will not have to worry about having information spread between a mobile site and a desktop site, and you will not have to worry about your online ranking being negatively impacted in the shift to mobile-first indexing, problems that people who lack responsive sites are sure to face.
Is This The Right Time To Replace Your Old Website?
If your website is not optimized for mobile users, or if you have not made the move to hosting a responsive site, it is time to consider making updates to your website. We provide new website designs for clients, but sometimes a bigger step is needed. Typically, a website’s life cycle is three to four years. If you have left an older site up for too long, it may be time to replace it with a new one! We can offer custom websites for our clients who are establishing a new practice, and for those who need to replace an older page. In addition to making your digital presence mobile-friendly, you can make changes that make your website more attractive and informative, as well as easier to navigate.
We Keep Clients Updated About Big Technical Changes That Can Impact Their Online Marketing
The change to mobile-first indexing is a big deal for SEO, and it could leave older websites at a disadvantage. If your practice has been around for a few years, and you have kept a website running, this is likely not the first big development to impact your online marketing, and you should not expect it to be the last.
Your practice and your patients deserve your full attention, but your online presence can be crucial to your ability to grow. We can help you maintain a great website, and we keep up with developments that can have a significant effect on your SEO. While you continue to provide great patient care, we can continue to help you reach new people with the right approach to online marketing! We can also manage your social media presence by providing you with quality posts that drive up engagement, and make your accounts more interesting to current patients.
MDPM Consulting Can Help You Make The Move To A Responsive Site!
With a responsive site, you can boost your SEO, avoid troubles related to Google’s move to mobile-first indexing, and offer a better user experience for potential patients! MDPM Consulting is ready to help our clients stay current as the landscape of online marketing continues to change, and we can provide valuable technical support when you need it. We also provide quality content for your website, and your social media accounts, which can help you continue to reach more people. To learn how we can make sure you are ready for mobile-first indexing, and able to connect with people on mobile devices, call MDPM Consulting today at 972-781-8861.