Google’s latest search updates makes searching for news easy and mobile

As the number of people searching the web on mobile devices soars, Google has responded by adapting their algorithms to these usage patterns. Starting April 21, Google will be expanding their use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal.

 

This is great news for companies with mobile-friendly sites but also provides the stimulus for businesses without mobile sites to speed up their development or risk being penalised in search rankings. With approximately 60 percent of online traffic coming from mobile sources, having a mobile friendly site is a must for your business.

 

Another recent (last September) and more subtly announced adjustment to Google’s algorithms is the decision to include news releases among authorised news sources in its ‘in the news’ search results.

 

By allowing company releases to top the list of news links shown when users search information, companies have the opportunity to announce their news using their own unedited tone and messaging, underpinning the value of the news release. This helps company generated news releases to take prime position in search rankings for searches focusing on specific companies.

 

Each year Google makes hundreds of changes to its algorithms and while the majority of these changes go unnoticed, every now again there’s a few that are worth highlighting.