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Google Webmaster Tools Now Detects Issues With Mobile Usability

Google Webmaster Tools Now Detects Issues With Mobile Usability

Today, Google announced an addition to its Webmaster Tools in an effort to keep webmasters more informed of specific website issues that mobile users may encounter.

With the new Mobile Usability feature you will be able to see issues specific to mobile users that Google has identified across your site.

Google says this data will also be recorded as a graph over time so you can see how much progress you’ve made towards making your site more mobile friendly.

Here is how Google defines a mobile-friendly site:

A mobile-friendly site is one that you can easily read & use on a smartphone, by only having to scroll up or down. Swiping left/right to search for content, zooming to read text and use UI elements, or not being able to see the content at all make a site harder to use for users on mobile phones.

To help website owners achieve this for their site, Google is introducing Mobile Usability reports which will show issues like:

  • Flash content
  • Missing viewport (a critical meta-tag for mobile pages)
  • Tiny fonts
  • Fixed-width viewports
  • Content not sized to viewport, and
  • Clickable links/buttons too close to each other

It is strongly recommended by Google that you take a look at your Mobile Usability report and start thinking about how to resolve any identified issues, which could be as simple as making an adjustment to your template.

For more information on mobile-friendly sites, visit Google’s Web Fundamentals website, which the company says will be updated with even more information soon.

Category News
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SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...

Google Webmaster Tools Now Detects Issues With Mobile Usability

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