As more and more people search on their mobile devices, Google is trying to ensure that visitors can not only find content that’s relevant, but also easy to read on mobile screens.

The tech giant gave mobile-friendly websites a boost on smartphones, after releasing drastic changes to its search algorithm, prompting the web to declare “Mobilegeddon.”

Some of the criteria to meet Google’s mobile standards include the ability to adjust for smaller screens (either through responsive design or detecting a mobile device and redirecting visitors to a dedicated mobile page), videos that are optimized for mobile, text which is large enough so visitors can read without zooming or horizontal scrolling, as well as links that can be easily clicked on touch screen devices.

While this latest change only impacts searches conducted on smartphones – desktop searches will be unaffected – it is important to keep in mind that mobile searches equate to about half of all Google queries these days.

Now you might think that Google is not the only search engine out there, but according to CNN Money, two thirds of the US search market is controlled by Google.

“…The top spot on a search page typically attracts 20% to 30% of the page’s clicks, according to Adam Bunn, SEO director of digital marketing agency Greenlight. After that comes an enormous tail-off: Positions two to three generate 5% to 10% of the clicks, and links below that receive less than 1% of users’ attention.”

But not all is lost, even if your site is not mobile friendly at this point – content is still king, which is another vital factor in Google’s calculations. Plus, once you implement the changes to your site, you should see improvements to your ratings within a few days.

NPR sited a study done by online marketing firm Portent, which found that a majority of the Web’s top sites, 10,000 out of the top 25,000 sites, actually aren’t mobile friendly.

How does your site fair? Take the test and connect with us, should you need to make some adjustments to your website.

UPDATE: During the AdWords Performance Summit on May 5th Google announced that mobile search queries have now surpassed desktop queries in 10 countries, including the United States.

There have been some great discoveries lately – a sequel to Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which according to the author was written before the classic and thought to have been long lost; two never before seen Cezanne sketches were found during the restoration of his watercolor “Trees” at the Barnes Foundation, and while cleaning out the office of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, his widow and secretary unearthed a box with an unpublished story and sketches called “What Pet Should I Get?.”

This will be the first new Dr. Seuss book in 25 years and great news, as kids across America are celebrating his Birthday today with the annual Read Across America. The new book features Seuss’ trademark rhymes, as well as the brother and sister from “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” due to be publish this July.

Image via Amazon

A chilling public service announcement was released ahead of Sunday’s Superbowl, which was reportedly inspired by a real 911 call, in which a woman used a fake pizza order to call for help.

 
A 30 second version of the ad is scheduled to air during the first quarter of the game.

The ad is part of the No More campaign – “a movement to raise public awareness and engage bystanders around ending domestic violence and sexual assault launched in 2013” and an initiative against domestic violence from the NFL that arose out of domestic violence and abuse cases involving some of it’s players.

Current and former NFL players previously appeared in a series of PSA’s titled “Speechless” denouncing domestic violence and sexual assault as part of the movement.

As the year once again comes to an end, we wanted to thank all of our clients and wish them and their family happy holidays and a prosperous new year.

Almost 40 years after Jaws made it’s terrifying debut, the movie is in theaters again. At least in the Cape Cod seaside town of Chatham. After an increase in shark sightings over the last years, initial fear was turned into an attraction and now all things shark are helping boost tourism.

In a New York Times interview Kevin McLain, executive director of the Chatham Orpheum Theater, where Jaws is playing twice a day throughout the summer said: “Attitudes have changed. There’s a line in the movie, that if you yell ‘Shark!’ on the Fourth of July, we’re going to have a panic on our hands. In Chatham now, you yell ‘Shark!’ in the middle of town, people come running to the beach, not away from it.”

Jaws is considered the original summer blockbuster –  released during the summer months with heavy advertising support and in thousands of theaters at the same time. The movie, which was directed by Steven Spielberg and told the story of a great white shark terrorizing a small town, became the highest-grossing film in history at the time.

And just like the original movie tie-ins – shark related merchandise is selling big theses days.