Bing Adds Mobile Friendly Labels

Google’s latest algorithm update seemed to put to rest any arguments about whether a site needed to be optimized for users browsing and shopping via mobile devices. Some website owners saw firsthand the repercussions of ignoring mobile users this long, while others scrambled last minute to alter their site for better usability on mobile devices. But if anyone has been paying attention, then Google’s mobile-friendly update should have come as no surprise, especially if you’ve been paying attention to Bing as well.

That’s right, Bing. Often pushed aside to make way for the search engine giant (Google), Bing has been probing websites with crawlers specific to different mobile devices in order to determine if a website offers a good mobile experience.

Bing Adds Label for Mobile-Friendly Websites

In mid-April 2015, Bing added two words to search engine results, possibly as a preemptive strike to Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm update. In any case, when searching via mobile device, users will find the words “Mobile-Friendly” in front of a site’s meta description. This label identifies sites that perform well on mobile devices as well as those sites that provide good usability for those browsing on a phone or tablet.

This isn’t the first time that Bing has talked about the importance of being mobile (friendly), and it probably isn’t the last. Back in November 2014, Mir Rosenberg from Bing’s Mobile Relevance team reminded everyone that the number of mobile users is on the rise, and that search engines should be able to provide a great experience for mobile users, just like those who browse on a desktop or laptop.

But determining whether a user is on a mobile device or not isn’t so easy, and Bing opened up about some of the challenges mobile users face.

Browsing Challenges On Mobile Devices

• It is more cumbersome to type a URL on a phone.
• Non-mobile friendly websites can feature tiny text, buttons too small to tap, and frustrating response time when trying to pinch-and-zoom.
• Flash-only or Flash-heavy websites are useless on iOS.
• Redirects (when a normal site pushes users to a mobile version) can leave a user impatient while the wheel is spinning, the page is loading and bandwidth is wasted.

These challenges were recognized by Bing as a way to push the Internet into a more user-friendly environment.

But it isn’t all up to website owners and web developers to make the Internet easier to use. Bing is jumping on the mobile bandwagon and aiding users on their devices by providing mobile-friendly results on their search engine results pages (SERPs).

A quick search for your favorite actor probably brings up IMDb and Wikipedia entries at the top of Bing. But if you’re on a mobile device, instead of the familiar IMDb URL, you should see a mobile version. This lets mobile users head to mobile-friendly websites right from the SERP.

Bing ranks mobile-friendly sites higher so they are more accessible to mobile users. Previously, a mobile search query likely returned hundreds of results to normal (non-mobile) sites and landing pages. And then there’s always the chance that the user would have to wait for a redirect to a mobile-friendly site.

What Can You Do To Improve Mobile-Friendliness Of Your Site?

With Google’s mobile-friendly update released, many website owners are in the process of updating their sites (or they did so prior to the release). But Bing has shown that Google isn’t the only search engine that is looking out for the best interest of users. Bing is pushing the importance of “mobile relevance”, and although they released the “mobile-friendly” label in much more quiet manner than Google released its update, Bing might not be finished. We’ll definitely be waiting for more from Bing, but in the meantime, if your website has suffered due to the mobile-friendly updates from Bing or Google, contact Online Potential. We offer high-end, responsive websites that are mobile friendly, without redirects.