We’ve fielded quite a few questions this week about what is now known as #mobilegeddon – Google’s new search update which factors mobile-friendliness in its search rankings. The most frantic of these questions was from a client who told us: “We’ve heard Google is going to shut down our website.”

We can tell you that this is not going to happen.

What is going to happen, is that you could start seeing your web traffic – and therefore leads – decline. The extent of that decline depends on how much of your traffic is generated by mobile organic search. Clients with 2% of site visits arriving via mobile search will probably not notice a huge change in traffic. Those with more mobile organic search traffic – like restaurants, real estate brokers, and other local shops – are more likely to be impacted. (Not sure if your site is mobile friendly? Find out how to test it here.)

Of course, even if you’re seeing mobile traffic in the 2% range, having a responsive site is not something to put off, as that could be the very reason your mobile traffic is light. While your audience may be desktop-based now, more and more people are going “mobile only, ” which means they may never use a desktop. Or, your traffic could be light because a poor mobile user experience means the users won’t stick around on your site, and most certainly won’t come back.

No Time for Panic

If you’re in an industry – like engineering – which tends to lag behind digital trends, you have some time to make sure your site is responsive. On the other hand, even in those lagging industries, the sooner you act, the sooner you may be able to draw visitors away from your competition. If you’re in an industry where most of your competitors are mobile-friendly, then it’s definitely time to join the ranks. Let us know how we can help.