Google Webmaster Warning for Non-mobile Optimized Pages

[gametv]

I just received a warning in Webmaster Tools that my site pages are not optimized for mobile devices and the search results for pages will be decreased in mobile searches.  Just got it yesterday and I see no drop yet, but anyone else seen this????

The notice states that the site is not optimized for viewport, text size and proper space for clickable elements.  All of that is true since we have not yet completed our responsive design conversion.

Any idea if Google will give us a little time to get this resolved, or do my rankings start dropping right away?

Just when you think you are moving forward with Google, they pull the rug out again...

[RyanPurkey]

Hi Lawrence. You're actually ahead of the curve on this one--think of all the sites that aren't even setup with Google Webmaster Tools accounts--so you'll have some time before seeing a harsh change in the rankings. That said, MANY people are seeing this warning, and it is a stated position from Google that they want site owners to use more mobile friendly layouts. It sounds like you have the redesign in the works, so a little extra motivation to get it done soon... Cheers!

[ErrickG]

Hi Lawrence,

I agree with Ryan. As search is shifting more and more towards mobile, Google is starting to let webmasters know if their website is mobile friendly. I have noticed more warnings on some of our old websites and a few on our new. We are just going back to each one and making sure they are mobile friendly. The good news is that there are plenty of tools and resources to get this done pretty fast.

[donford]

The shift is happening. I just did a review in Google Anayltics and noticed in 2010 we had 0.5% traffic from mobile devices today it is over 13%. This trend is likely not going to change. Google is trying to be pro-active here.

[Andy-Halliday]

I got the same warning for one off our brand sites, but I don't really monitor the rankings at the moment as these are only really holding sites.

[EricaMcGillivray]

We got the same warning here at Moz in WMT. While responsive isn't affecting rankings yet, it's coming and Google's letting us know ahead of time. Additionally, if your competitors aren't mobile-optimized, this may be a great way to get a leg up on them.

[gametv]

Lots of great responses from the Moz community. Thank you.  I got pretty concerned about this because we see alot of our organic traffic as coming from mobile.  I'm taking this pretty seriously and have already hired a programmer to get the site fully responsive.  My deadline for getting it completed is 10-14 days, so I hope that Google gives us some more time to implement changes.

At first I was a bit disheartened, but this is actually pushing me to get changes done that I have been procrastinating on, so maybe it is a good thing.

I just hope that the criteria Google uses for mobile compatibility is fairly loose, so it is obvious what needs to be fixed to be considered mobile friendly.

Best Regards,

[gametv]

I just hope they give us some more time to get things resolved and roll this out slowly so that it is not like a major penalty.