We wrote a blog post earlier regarding the 5 important things you need to know about Google’s upcoming mobile responsive algorithmic update. Today, we focus specifically on why being responsive is important apart from the fact that it is released by Google.
There has been a lot of talk about SEO and the increase in web searches via mobile devices and tablets.
The recent Google algorithmic update about to hit on 21st April and the increasing search on smartphones has given more importance than ever to responsive website design.
Benefits of a Responsive Website
1. Google wants your website to be responsive
Google is like an ultimate respect machine. What it says or does goes unquestioned, unchallenged, and accepted worldwide without any hassle. This is the authority that Google has. When the big G demands updates, the webmasters have no option but to follow.
The same is true for responsive websites. Google loves to see your website optimized for the devices on which it is viewed. In this case, your website should be optimized for the best browsing experience on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers.
SEO experts always want to have websites optimized with the latest algorithmic updates.
When Google demands responsive website design, SEO experts and companies need to make an effort to have responsive designs to comply with the next update.
But have you ever wondered why Google demands responsive websites? Google wants you to live an easier-than-ever life. This means one website optimized for all screen resolutions instead of having a clutter of different websites that are optimized for various screen sizes. Do note that multiple instances of the same website content would lead to plagiarism and serious penalties. Google does not want that to happen to your website.
One website means little effort for search engine spiders, who would otherwise have to crawl various websites for different platforms.
2. Responsive Helps Combat High Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is defined as the time it takes for a visitor to open your website and leave within the first 15 seconds. Well, the usual rate depends between 15 seconds to 1 minute. But generally speaking, a higher bounce rate is not good for the website. A bounce rate of less than 50% is considered favorable and of course, the lower the better.
A higher bounce rate is always a frustrating and nerve-wracking issue to resolve for SEO experts and if your website continues having a higher bounce rate than usual, it would signal to Google that your site is not showing relevant content to its visitors.
Google hates higher bounce rates and will push down your site’s rankings if it continues happening. With a responsive website, your chances of having a high bounce rate are reduced due to the ease of browsing that your site provides.
A mobile responsive website helps your visitors to enjoy reading your site content without any difficulty.
Optimize your website for keywords and content quality, but also for responsive web design.
A non-responsive site takes longer to load due to heavy codes and files that need to be fetched from the server. but in the case of a responsive design, your website will only show the minimal code required to operate on a smartphone or a tablet. Given the nature of smartphones, data charges are still a big concern for mobile users.
The solution is a responsive website, which takes all the clutter out and loads with minimal requirements.
3. Better user experience
SEO is all about improving user experience, which isn’t difficult though, but takes a lot of time to satisfy your visitors.
Making search queries easy to find is something that Google and search engine users want. Responsive websites enhance the user experience of their visitors taking it to a whole new level.
Responsive design strongly emphasizes a better user experience for visitors. Always keep your visitors in mind while designing websites. Off course, you would want your site to be viewed with minimum effort and this is where responsive design comes in. Fitting to the screen resolution automatically means less effort on the part of viewers.
3. Over 20% of searches are made through Smartphones
With an ever-increasing usage of smartphones ruling the internet, it takes no scientist to notice that you need to optimize your website for mobile phones. Over 20% of searches are done on Google through smartphones and this number is likely going to increase exponentially over the next years. The time is now, to get ready to cash in on this opportunity.
4. Save time and cost in developing a mobile website
Having a responsive website developed for your brand or business is much more cost-efficient and effective than having a different mobile website. What if you were to make 2 versions of the same website having your audience redirected to them from different platforms? That would be very costly!
You just need one website for all platforms instead of having a unique one for each screen size. Just imagine how much you would be saving in terms of finance!
5. Easy to manage and operate
Having different websites means having different campaigns to monitor. One website leaves all the mess and mismanagement behind, allowing you to focus solely on your website’s marketing campaign. This is an important benefit of having a responsive website.
You will find yourself in a much better situation with one website, which is easily managed. Moreover, you are also at little to zero chance of getting penalized by Google for responsive website design.
Conclusion
Responsive design allows you to stay ahead in the game. With the ever-increasing usage of smartphones and tablets, it is recommended to have a responsive site to stay ahead of the competition.