This post was originally posted on the SmashFly Blog.

In the next week, organizations across the world will experience one of the most impactful search updates in our lifetime (so far). But what does this Google algorithm change really mean for recruiting organizations? Here’s a quick primer to ensure you’re not caught unprepared (I also recommend you read Chris South's post over on RecruitingTools as well.)

What is Mobilegeddon?

“Mobilegeddon” is what many in the tech industry are calling Google’s next algorithm update. While Google consistently updates (or mostly tweaks) its algorithm, this is expected to be a major change to how Google indexes search results.

On April 21, this new algorithm will be rolled out globally, giving greater authority and thus higher search rankings to sites that are mobile-friendly. As always with Google, they won’t reveal specifics, but for sites that aren’t mobile-optimized―they will more than likely see a drop in SEO rankings across the board.

Why is Google changing its algorithm?

Quite simply, it’s because Google wants to ensure the best experience for users searching, and more than 60% of Google searches occur from a mobile device. The more important Google makes mobile for search, the more important it becomes for companies to have an optimized mobile site and strategy.

How do I know if my career site is mobile-friendly?

Google has been incorporating mobile-friendliness into its search displays, but just as a label. You may have seen search results that looked like this (if you’ve conducted a “recruitment marketing” search recently).

Now Google will use mobile-friendliness to determine search rankings as well.  There are two quick ways to check if your career site is mobile-friendly in Google’s eyes (are there any other that matter?):

• Search your career site on your phone and see if it says Mobile-Friendly as above.
• Use the “Mobile-Friendly Test” from Google Webmaster tools.

What’s the verdict?

Mobile responsive vs. mSite

Google recognizes two types of sites as mobile-friendly: mobile responsive sites and mSites.

Mobile responsive sites are coded to automatically present content based on screen size, meaning it’s resized and/or removed based on the device used. See it in action: Visit www.smashfly.com and grab the bottom left corner of the browser window and move to the left. As the size shrinks, you’ll see the content respond to the change in size. This is responsive design.

mSite refers to a separate site created specifically for mobile. This site typically is a streamlined version of the desktop site, providing the most important options and content to make it easier to navigate the site on a mobile device.

So which one is better? 

For now, Google sees them as equal, as both serve their purpose and provide a better mobile experience. However, many organizations are moving toward mobile responsive designs for their websites, mainly because they want one dynamic site in which changes to content, design and development are reflected on all devices for the best experience.

Creating a mobile-friendly site

The first step is admitting you have a problem. If you “failed” the above test, you are more than likely in one of three camps:

• ATS Job Search: Marketing built the career site page, which may or may not be mobile friendly, and you are using the ATS for the job search, which is not mobile-friendly.
• Legacy Career Site: You built your career site years ago, before mobile was a big deal.
• Wrong Provider: You leverage a career site solution that doesn’t offer a mobile-friendly solution.

In any case, it is time to look for a solution to manage and measure your career site and ensure it’s mobile-friendly. Just as modern websites are built with content management systems like WordPress and Drupal, career sites are increasingly being built via emerging technology solutions such as Recruitment Marketing Platforms.

Get your mobile strategy launched

With a Recruitment Marketing Platform, organizations can partner with external leaders to build dynamic and responsive web designs to portray their employer brand and ensure an SEO-optimized job search.

A mobile-friendly career site is important today, but a mobile recruiting strategy is more important for tomorrow. We’d love to talk to you about both.