I’m sure you realize how important online search is to connect new patients to their future doctor. But did you know that over half of all searches are happening on mobile devices (primarily smart phones and tablets)?
Google sure knows this. That’s why, on April 21, Google’s search algorithms will reward mobile friendly websites with better rankings than similar sites that don’t function well on cell phones and tablets. Google “will be expanding our use of mobilefriendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.” Google is the elephant in the room of web search, so it’s a good idea to stand up and take notice of this change. Sites that rank well in search now, and were not designed to display well on mobile (as is the case with many sites designed over 3 years ago), will likely see a ranking drop very soon.
Don’t panic just yet. Even if your site is about to get dinged, so are many others, so don’t expect every practice in town to leapfrog over you on April 21. But if search is a part of your patient recruitment strategy (and it probably should be), you should take steps pretty soon to become mobile friendly. In some cases, it may only require some minor tweaking of your current site. In others, you may need to start from scratch with a new site.
Plan on reaching out to your website designer soon for guidance. If you don’t have an existing strong relationship, we here at King Medical would be happy to chat with you and help determine where you stand.
For more details on Google’s mobile search initiative, click here for their blog post.
