Dealing with the impending Google mobile compliance update - is bMobilized any good as a temporary measure?

[Martin_S]

We've been caught a bit off guard with the upcoming Google mobile compliance issue and received the warnings in webmasters about fixing mobile usability issues.

It will still be some time before we can have the site re-coded as responsive. I have stumbled upon a converter tool (which turns any site into one that's mobile friendly) called bMobilized, which essentially turns your site into one that's mobile friendly.

Have you used bMobilized? Is it a safe idea to use this service temporarily until our new responsive site is ready in a few months? Do you have any suggestions for temporarily getting around the mobile compliance issue while our new responsive site is being built?

Thanks

[HashtagHustler]

I should clarify, I'm not saying don't make a stripped down mobile version, in fact I agree it may be a great idea. I also think setting it up to meet the standards as outlined in the post is the best way to do it. I think it is a better idea than using a conversion to mobile service, if you have to make a choice. Basically, the sooner you can meet the mobile standards the better! At the same time, if it is going to cause you to make a bad decision/put out a product that isn't finished or potentially hinder the overall progress of your website, then I think it isn't worth the rush. As pointed out below, take your top pages and really hit those hard, make sure those are up to par and move on from there.

I think the hesitance you are reading in my post is the importance of "measure twice cut once in" and taking every single possible outcome into account.

[KristinaKledzik]

I disagree with Hashtag here; I think it's worth making a stripped down mobile version of your site, especially if you focus on the pages that bring in the most mobile traffic for you. Going fully responsive is a great end goal, but the buzz in SEO communities is that this will have a significant impact.

Just make sure that you set things up properly, since separate mobile sites can be tricky!

[HashtagHustler]

Good Morning!

Is your old website in WordPress? If you are considering building a new website in WordPress, I PERSONALLY would just as soon start building a responsive theme. Or even put a responsive child theme on individual pages to hold its place until you have something ready.

We don't totally know how much any of these algo updates from Google impact us until after the fact. Everything is speculation until it actually launches, Hindsight is 20/20. You will also see impact from making changes to your layout, website organization, etc.

Making your website responsive means the least amount of change overall. Its very hard to answer and give suggestions on what to do with another persons website, especially without having looked at the site at all. There are so many things to take into account, such as timeline for a complete overhaul, the impact of a incomplete mobile site on sales etc.

[Martin_S]

Thanks for the great reply.

Mobile conversions account for about 20% - which translates to some significant business for us.

Might it be worth building a mobile site in Word Press (a stripped down version of the desktop site) to utilise in the meantime?  Would it be negative to indexing/rankings if we were to have an interim Mobile site live until the responsive site is ready.

[dynamyt100]

Hustler has a very good point about your traffic sources. I spent the last 2 months converting my site as a precautionary measure and Im ready. My advice would be to stay away from quick fixes. Start your conversion on high traffic pages and slowly work your way through to the lower end pages.

[SanjidaKazi]

I agree 100% with Hustler. Take the time to build a responsive website if you can afford to and your mobile traffic/conversions are already pretty low.

In the future, Google may further split rankings so you may as well have a solution in place that will perform on all three mediums just in case. ( Desktop, Mobile, Tablet )

[HashtagHustler]

So, assuming you have done the necessary research before hand, for example this Moz article on mobile Google makes it pretty clear that it is not going to hurt your desktop rankings, so before any panic sets in, I sincerely believe in checking the data and making sure its worth the investment.

For example if only 2% of your traffic is coming from mobile, and there don't seems to be many conversions from that, I personally would take my time finding the perfect solution, and hold out until everything could be made responsive.

Also based on this website you sent, I fear it will end up being a lot more work than it appears. I HAVE NEVER USED IT, but based on my 10+ years in graphics/web design, conversion tools generally are not as effective as they appear, although some work very well.

In conclusion, look at your mobile traffic and conversions. Look at what people are using mobile for, are they simply getting a phone number? Then a Google + Business Page can help serve the same purpose while you start the new site. Are they making purchases? Then maybe it would be worth looking into the solution they sent simply to keep revenue. If mobile isn't incredibly influential to your overall web presence, I would just hold out and do it right. Measure twice, cut once.

Hope this helps!