The SEO community has been buzzing about the upcoming mobile-friendly algorithm update from Google, which is expected to roll out April 21st. Until now, there has been a decent amount of speculation regarding just how much of an impact the update will bring.
Google’s Zineb Ait Bahajji cleared up some of questions surrounding the algorithm update during SMX Munich this past weekend. According to Bahajji, the mobile-friendly algorithm update will be more impactful than both Penguin and Panda. Of course, Google has not officially released any specific information with regards to the percentage of search queries that will affected.
At the time of their release, Panda affected approximately 12% of all queries in the United States while Penguin affected about 4% of queries worldwide. It is safe to say that the mobile-friendly algorithm update will certainly impact a substantial number of search queries, as close to 50% of searches are now estimated to be performed on mobile devices.
One thing remains clear: if your website is not mobile-friendly, the time to take action is now. Webmasters should be proactive in preparing their websites for the upcoming algorithm update, in order to stay one step ahead of the ranking factor.