Bing's Push For Mobile-Friendly Rankings

It’s old news that Bing has added a mobile-friendly label to search results, but the implications of that move are far-reaching.

In April 2015, Bing added a small label to the beginning of mobile search results that indicate whether a or not a link is “mobile-friendly.”

What is Mobile-Friendly?

Well, in the world of search engines, mobile-friendly websites are those that have been designed, developed and written in such a way that makes navigation, browsing, shopping, reading, etc., an easy and enjoyable experience for users. Mobile-friendly sites can either be mobile websites, which are separate versions of a regular website to which the user is redirected, or responsive websites, which adjust the layout of page elements to fit the size of the screen on the device being used.

In terms of Internet trends, Bing is pretty far behind Google on this one. Google launched a label for mobile-friendly websites back in 2014.

But, it’s clear that Bing hasn’t finished its statement on the importance of developing websites that perform well on mobile devices.

On May 15, 2015, Bing announced it will roll out an algorithm to rank websites on several factors that determine mobile friendliness. This decision was made, in part, thanks to the mobile friendly label. Bing found that users overwhelmingly preferred sites that were labeled as mobile-friendly, and in turn, clicked on those search results more often.

Forget Google’s Drastic Update

In May 2015, if you had a website that was not mobile-friendly, then you probably experienced Google’s “Mobilegeddon.” When Google’s update to rank websites based on mobile friendliness was released, thousands of websites were affected. To be fair, though, Google did release an announcement about the algorithm update, a move that is atypical for the company.

Bing has announced that although they will implement rankings for mobile-friendly sites, websites that prove to be more relevant to users will still appear — even if they are not mobile friendly. This seems to be a truly user-centric approach, giving users the ability to decide whether content or user interface is more important in their search.

So, let’s take a look at how Bing is determining the mobile friendliness of a website.

• Navigation: Menus and buttons should be large enough to read and spaced out enough that it’s easy to click on the right option. Small hyperlinks might work great on a desktop, but in the world of touch-based interfaces, easy-to-tap navigation will boost the usability of your site.
  
  
• Readability: Ever try to zoom by pinching the screen? It’s annoying, and Bing has listened to user complaints. Websites that present content on mobile devices using large print, and avoiding the need to scroll laterally, are going to get the coveted mobile friendly tag.
  
  
• Scrolling: According to Bing, content should appear within the parameters of the device so that users do not have to scroll laterally to read it, and we couldn’t agree more. Well-designed mobile and responsive sites are already doing this, and your site should do it, too.
  
  
• Compatibility: Site that are compatible across multiple devices are likely to receive a higher ranking. It’s a well-known fact that Flash doesn’t perform well on iOS devices, and plug-in dependent videos could weigh your website down in the rankings, too.

These factors, of course, are not the only deciding factors when Bing’s algorithm determines whether a site is mobile friendly. Other factors include pop-ups that are impossible to close on a mobile device (because the X button is off-screen) and whether your site uses the right CSS and script files for indexing.

Is Your Site Bing-Approved?

Focusing on the mobile friendliness of a website is still fairly new, and it’s likely that as Bing rolls out additional updates, the company will tweak the algorithm to continue to better serve users. The good news is that users will find searching and browsing a much more pleasant experience. The bad news, for any site owners who are hesitant to update a static or non-mobile website, is that your spot in the rankings is in jeopardy.

If you want to stay ahead of the competition, and grow your business, contact Online Potential in Orlando for a fast, responsive and user-friendly website.