Along with April comes spring, a feeling of freshness and a new start. April also has one of the most historically dreaded days of the year… Tax Day! Those who wait until the last minute run around all day from the accountant’s office to the post office and everywhere in-between.

Well, thanks to Google, this year the most dreaded day will no longer be the 15th! It will be TODAY: Tuesday April 21, 2015

…the day of

M O B I L E G E D D O N

Google’s Mobile Friendly Update!

What is Mobilegeddon? Are you ready? Did you wait until the last minute? What do you need to know? What do you need to do?

No worries, take a deep breath and allow us to guide you!

What is Mobilegeddon?

Simply put, Mobilegeddon is the day that Google will begin to give a boost in rankings to pages that have earned their mobile-friendly label in mobile SERPs.

Therefore, if you ranked highly for a specific keyword and have not made your site mobile-friendly, there is the potential that you will lose those rankings.

Unlike many other Google updates, Google has been more than fair with this update. They officially announced the update back on February 26th which is the same day that they launched the oh-so helpful, Mobile-Friendly Test. Playfully, the SEM Community has dubbed the day as “Mobilegeddon.”  In the world of SEO this update has occupied a majority of the chatter and shaken up the focus for search engine optimization.

Top Facts to know about Mobilegeddon:

1. 1. The mobile algorithm update will be on a page by page basis. Rather than classifying your entire site mobile-friendly, it is actually possible to have some pages labeled as mobile-friendly while other pages are not. If time is an issue for you, check Google Analytics for your top mobile content and prioritize which pages to update first.
   2. The mobile update is in real-time. This means that as soon as you update your site and then Google crawls it, it will immediately be labeled as mobile-friendly and immediately benefit from the update. We tested this on a client in-house and can verify that this is true! (hint: fetch as Google in GWT use the mobile: smartphone option to submit the updated URLS)
   3. The update will only affect the mobile SERPS. Desktop and mobile SERPs are not the same. Today’s update will only have an effect on your mobile SERPs, therefore you can rank one page for desktop SERPs while ranking on a different page for mobile SERPs.
   4. Google has announced that they will no longer show URLs in mobile search results. Google has begun to replace mobile URLs with the site’s name and breadcrumb path. These changes will roll out gradually and will only affect the mobile search results.
   5. Responsive sites DO NOT equal mobile friendly! It’s very common for business owners to assume that just because they have a responsive site in place that they will naturally gain the mobile friendly tag. While responsive design will re-size the content of your site, you will want to be sure to avoid many common mistakes, including blocked JavaScript, CSS, and image files. (Have you checked your robots.txt file lately?) Allow Googlebot to see exactly what your users see!

Avoiding the Wrath of Mobilegeddon:

Do you want to ensure that your site doesn’t experience the wrath of Mobilegeddon? I sure hope so! Let’s take a look at a few things that you can do rather painlessly and fairly quickly without understanding web development.

Begin by checking your site on Google Webmaster Tools (GWT). If you do not have an account, you should! It’s free, it houses a ton of information about your site, and as I said, it’s FREE! Sign up HERE!

Once you have created or logged in to your GWT account, locate the Dashboard on the left side of the page and click the arrow for Search Traffic. The last item in this category is the Mobile Usability section which will show you not only which pages have mobile usability issues, but also provide links to guides on how to fix these issues. (Tools to prepare for an algorithm update? Again, demonstrating that Google was more than fair with this update!)

As you can see in our example, there are a total of 281 pages on this site with mobile usability issues. Below that you will see a timeline that will give you a quick snapshot of when there was a spike or decline in mobile usability issues. Google then breaks that down even further and will list which pages have which issues. (Please note that one page can appear in multiple categories.) When you click on each individual issue, you will see a list of URLs that are affected by that issue.

Once you have clicked on a URL, you will get a screen that will give you several options for testing or fixing the issues on that specific page.

The 4 Main Components to Determining Mobile Usability (and a layman’s definition):

1. Touch elements too close
   • Buttons, links, or form fields are too small or too close together to be used easily on a touchscreen.
2. Content not sized to viewport
   • Users have to scroll horizontally or zoom out to see the whole page
3. Viewport not configured
   • Code that gives the browser instructions for the page’s dimensions based on device
4. Small font size
   • Page copy is too small for users to read when not on a desktop

You can also check random pages on your site by going directly to the Google Mobile-Friendly Tool. This tool is available to the public and also free to use. Be sure to check several pages before assuming that your site is ready; as I stated earlier in this post, the update is on a page by page basis.

Should you fear Mobilegeddon?

As an agency, we have seen an array of issues and obstacles involving mobile usability issues; however, most have had an easy solution once the developers were involved. For the ones that haven’t, we dove in and conducted further research to find a fix.

Really, Mobilegeddon is just a play on words and should not be feared. While the amount of traffic that comes to your site varies greatly by niche, mobile use has surpassed desktop already and is forecasted to continue to grow. So, wouldn’t you want your users to have a good experience no matter what device they were on? Use Google’s mobile-friendly tags to your advantage (while you can) and complete your mobile site’s “spring cleaning.”

If you are still losing sleep over Mobilegeddon, I’d suggest you call us now!

To get more information on this topic, contact us today for a free consultation or learn more about our status as a Google Premier Partner before you reach out.

The post Mobilegeddon: Or Why You’re about to Lose a Ton of Traffic appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.

OK, so I may be over exaggerating a bit, but now that I have your attention let me explain why it is imperative that you have optimized your hospital or health care facility for local search.

Google will create listings not only for the main hospital or medical facility but also for each doctor and department within the facility that has its own contact information. All too many times we have seen listings for doctors or departments that don’t even exist anymore. There are many patients who are simply trying to reach the switchboard to get to someone who can help them and quickly connect them to the party they need.  If optimized correctly, your main facility and contact number should appear on the top of the list.

There are several factors in how potential patients search that affect the results, including:

• Search engine (e.g. Google, Bing)
• Privacy settings (e.g. incognito while they are logged into the search engine)
• Actual search queries (e.g. “cancer doctors” vs. “emergency room”)
• Device Type (e.g. desktop, tablet, or phone)

Google My Business

Let’s take a look at just a few possible Google searches for ‘hospitals’ below. First I searched from my desktop while logged into my Google account with my location set as Wheeling, WV 26003:

I then did the same search from my mobile phone:

The mobile version also shows seven listings.  However with a much smaller screen, it requires some scrolling.  No big deal, right? Wrong! People don’t scroll!  (Especially if they are in urgent need of attention!) You want to be on the top of the list. Luckily for East Ohio Regional Hospital, they do rank in the top position in both of my keyword searches.

In many ways, you are in control of what information is listed in the local search results for your business. These results come from Google Maps, which is now linked to your Google+ page through Google My Business (previously Google Places).  When you claim your listing you can ensure that your information is updated and correct.  Hospitals or medical facilities should always use the main switchboard number for this listing. You will also have the opportunity to add your website, description, hours of operation and pictures.  With the mobile results, Google has made it easy for the patient by allowing them to call your facility or visit your website with a quick touch of the screen.

If you get nothing else from this blog post, at least get this: Claim and optimize your Google+ page to at least be “put you on the map”.

Helpful tips for Local Search Optimization

Local search optimization is a lengthy process which does not have to cost you a dime as long as you have the time and knowledge.  While Google My Business is a good place to start, it’s just the beginning of local search optimization.  To help you along, here are a few more suggestions to aide you in this process:

• Complete a spreadsheet with your NAP & details
  • In this scenario, NAP doesn’t refer to an afternoon siesta.  What it does refer to is your company’s name, address, and phone number.
  • Best practices include using your local telephone number- not your toll-free number – as well as your official business name.  Adding keywords to the business name does not help your cause; it only makes it harder for your patients to find you.

• Research the top Medical directories and citation sites
  • A good place to start would be Moz’s Top Citation Sources for Medical Services.
  • The more mentions of your site, the more value it will have in Google’s eyes and the more places your patients can find you.

• Keep a record of the sites where you have added and optimized your business and include:
  • The name of citation or directory site
  • Log in information
  • Date submitted
  • URL of your company’s listing
  • Any notes for things to be followed up on
• Always follow up to ensure accuracy
• Check your listing every few months to ensure your NAP is current.
• Make updates as needed for new services, any relocations, phone number changes, or website changes.

Now that you are no longer ‘killing people’ and know the steps you need to take to help your patients contact you, you probably feel much better!

We would love to hear if these steps have assisted you in your local search optimization and look forward to your comments. Should you find that you have further questions on best practices or just don’t have the time to complete this on our own, it’s one of our specialties!

To get more information on this topic, contact us today for a free consultation or learn more about our status as a Google Premier Partner before you reach out.

Want to check out more of our actionable ideas to grow confidently online in the medical and health industry? Check out some of these blog posts below.

• 12 Addiction Treatment Marketing Tactics To Kickstart Rehab Growth
• Google Medic: How to SEO Proof Your Site in the Trust Authority Era
• 30+ ‘Best Month Ever’s’ for an Eating Disorder Treatment Center
• How do People Find Answers to Health Related Questions?
• Healthcare Marketing Research & Survey Results

The post You Are Killing People if You Haven’t Optimized Your Hospital for Local Search! appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.

Facts

• $500 billion in e-commerce purchases last year
• Number of internet users is approaching 2 billion
• 36 hours of information is uploaded to YouTube every minute
• More than half of offline purchase now derive from online research

Predictions

• MOBILE IS THE FUTURE
• Smartphones and other mobile devices will become ones, personal concierge
• YouTube will continue to grow and be used across all platforms
• Storage will be unlimited and cheap
• Everyone will have access

How will you take advantage of these changes?

To increase the volume and quality of search traffic, there are some steps you can take right now.  We suggest the following:

• Claim Google Places listings for all physical business locations
• Evaluate location-based social networks such as Foursquare to see if they make sense for your business
• Connect with in-market consumers researching trusted sites such as viewpoints (Reis’ suggestion) or NetBase (our suggestion; full disclosure: a client)

In Google AdWords

• Link location ad extensions to appropriate Google Places accounts
• If inbound calls are desired, use phone ad extensions; they are click-to-call
• Deliver ads to all or select mobile devices (you may want to separate these out into separate campaigns)
• If advertising on the content network, try video display ads; they are far more engaging
• Add more abbreviated keywords to better target mobile search users

The post Mobile Search is the Future. Are You Ready? appeared first on Direct Online Marketing.