May 2015- 1

Mobilegeddon: The Survival Kit for Higher Education

May 15th, 2015

May 2015- 2

Today’s Agenda q  Is This the End? The Real Impact.

q  Are Your Pages Mobile Friendly Enough? How to Check.

q  Deep Impact? How to Find Out.

q  No Food in the Tent. Common Mistakes.

q  Future Threats? Always Be Prepared.

May 2015- 3

Is This The End?

May 2015- 4

How Do Search Engines Work?

1.  Search engines use robots, sometimes called “spiders” or “crawlers,” to

creep around the pages of the web using links like a subway system.

2.  The spiders read and store select sections of the pages in a big database.

3.  A users types a keyword or search term into the search engine.

4.  The engine accesses that huge database to find the best fit using a top

secret algorithm.

May 2015- 5

What Happened 4.21.2015?

•  Google released its new mobile-friendly algorithm

•  SEOs have dubbed it #mobilegeddon

•  Algorithm favors web pages that are deemed mobile friendly

•  Pages are either mobile friendly or no – there is no scale

May 2015- 6

Context & History

May 2015- 7

Context & History

May 2015- 8

Area of Impact

Mobile Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

May 2015- 9

Google: On Your Side

Areas of impact

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/

May 2015- 10

Mobile Friendly Enough?

May 2015- 11

What Makes a Site “Mobile Friendly”? GoogleBot detects the following criteria: •  Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like

Flash •  Users text that is readable without zooming •  Sizes content to the screen so users don’t have to scroll

horizontally or zoom •  Places links far enough apart so that correct one can easily be

tapped •  Overall touchscreen readiness

May 2015- 12

Site Wide vs. Page Level?

•  New algorithm is run on a page-by-page basis

•  Only mobile friendly pages will benefit

•  Baby steps are okay!

May 2015- 13

The Mobile Tag

•  Rolled out last fall •  Helps users identify mobile

friendly sites •  Same overall criteria to

#Mobilegeddon

May 2015- 14

Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly

May 2015- 15

Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly

May 2015- 16

Webmaster’s Tools Mobile Usability Report

May 2015- 17

WooRank

May 2015- 18

Deep Impact?

May 2015- 19

How is this impacting websites?

https://moz.com/blog/day-after-mobilegeddon

May 2015- 20

What is the Timeline?

•  New algorithm is 100% rolled out (took about a week) •  Google has said it can take weeks or even months as sites will

all need to be re-indexed •  However, some antidotal evidence shows that Google is fast

tracking the processing of some mobile sites •  Most experts expect that we’ve seen the brunt of the change,

but are watching it over time

May 2015- 21

Potential Winners and Losers

https://moz.com/blog/day-after-mobilegeddon

May 2015- 22

News Alert: Mobile Searches > Desktop Searches

*Source: Noel-Levitz 2014 E-Expectations Report *Source: Noel-Levitz 2014 E-Expectations Report

May 2015- 23

Yes, Even in Higher Education

*Source: Noel-Levitz 2014 E-Expectations Report *Source: Noel-Levitz 2014 E-Expectations Report

Source: Noel-Levits E-Expectations Report

May 2015- 24

Check Your Site

May 2015- 25

Check Your Site

May 2015- 26

No Food in the Tent.

May 2015- 27

Common Mistakes

•  Blocked JavaScript, CSS and image files •  Unplayable content •  Faulty redirects •  Mobile-only 404s •  App download interstitials •  Irrelevant cross-links •  Slow mobile pages

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/common-mistakes/

May 2015- 28

What DIDN’T Happened 4.21.2015?

•  Not likely to impact brand specific searches

•  Google will not “delist” your site if you do not go mobile

•  Does not effect AdWords

May 2015- 29

“Never Depend on those luck moments – they are gifts, but instead always build your own back-up plan.” !

- Bear Grylls!

Future Threats?

May 2015- 30

Users First

May 2015- 31

Mobile First

May 2015- 32

Mobile Goals Short Term: •  Index your site and prioritize prospective student pages, alumni giving

pages and other high objective sections •  Work through them and make sure they “get the tag” •  Use digital advertising to supplement traffic loss •  Consider inbound tools like the COS from Hubspot

Long Term: •  Make sure your whole site passes the Mobile Optimization reports in

webmaster tools •  Redesign – including information architecture and content – where

needed

May 2015- 33

Future Threats?

Plan for mobile

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” !

- Richard Bach!

Threat vs. Opportunity

May 2015- 34

Free Mobile Assessments

http://inbound.convergeconsulting.org/mobile-web-assessment

May 2015- 35

Upcoming Webinar

May 2015- 36

Converge 2015

May 2015- 37

Questions?