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The Google plain simple white page with a search box in the middle is being joined by some new “friends” on the mobile Google home page. And most experts think that these same additions will show up on the desktop/laptop Google home page sooner rather than later.
These changes to the Google mobile app accompany a mobile-first search index for use on the mobile versions of Google introduced in late 2016.
Here’s detailed info on that change:
FAQ: All about the Google mobile-first index (11/9/2016)
Google saw the writing on the wall about how important mobile search would become YEARS ago. And now over 50% of Google searches are performed on mobile devices. No wonder that during the last 6-8 months they started rolling out their mobile-optimized applications.
So what’s Google up to with this latest change to their most valuable search property? Let’s take a look with Clark Boyd in an article he just published on Search Engine Watch:
What do we know so far about Google’s new homepage?
Lots to digest! Many experts believe that this is all about Google trying to fend off both Amazon and Facebook (and others!) from eating away at Google’s mobile search stronghold.
How? By being a bit more “social” with the info a mobile searcher can access directly from the Google home page in addition to performing their initial search.
And those “social” interactions – they’ll probably also become Google paid search opportunities in the not too distant future.
Bottom Line for all businesses, large and small: Make darn sure that your Web site is “smartphone friendly” (i.e. has a responsive design) ASAP or risk never being found in a Google mobile search again, no matter how “optimized” your Web site is!