Mobilegeddon – the nickname that Google’s latest algorithm update that took place on April 21st this year has acquired – is here.
It’s a big change and a change that makes sense. With the update Google is really trying to ensure that users (Googlers) will get the best experience when using their platform. In other words, Google’s intention is to do good for the users, which is great. Have you ever looked up something on the internet on a mobile device and be led to a website that was completely unreadable on your device? A website that you would have to zoom in – zoom out – scroll and pan – left and right – up and down? We all have and yes, websites like that are annoying to say the least. Try to hit a tab (link) and you sometimes will activate the link just above or below (or next to) the one you intended for. Not a great user experience.
What the algorithm update has implemented is to favor websites that are mobile-friendly.
Mobile friendly means that images adjust to the size of the screen of your device on which you are watching. It means that the text become readable without having to zoom in and out and it means that links and navigation becomes much more easily navigated on the smaller screens of the mobile devices.
It makes perfect sense for Google to implement such a move, especially when considering that more than 60% of all web-searches today are done via mobile devices. In other words make it a great experience for the user and accommodate for the large amount of traffic that takes place from mobile devices.
As a user, I personally think it’s great. Although I find myself often embracing new technologies fast, I have long been avoiding looking up stuff on my mobile device, because I was tired of trying to read horrible websites on my devices. However, as most other people, I find myself in need of a here and now answer and will invariably find myself looking up things on the go on my mobile device. Maybe it’s an address I need to find, perhaps a phone number or sometimes even find who I will employ to carry out some service such as a “fix my leaking washing machine”.
What is not so great about the algorithm change from Google for a vast amount of businesses is the fact that their websites are not up to par and thus will fade away from Google’s search engine results on the mobile devices. In simpler terms; their websites are not mobile-friendly. What makes this problem bigger is that most of the businesses owners and operators are completely unaware of this fact. If you are not much into techie stuff or internet current events, then you may be rather oblivious to the fact this change has taken place and to what it actually means for your business and for what you really need to do about it – Now!
What is even worse is that a lot of same business owners and operators discard the issue when confronted with it. I suspect, they dismiss it only out of routine from having to turn away way too many uninvited sales calls trying to sell them things they don’t need.
But this one they do need.
Don’t take my word for it though. If you are a skeptic, then just try to Google: “Google April 21” and see what comes up. You will find a ton of articles and posts about the problem and you will quickly learn that yes, this is real and this is something that has already taken place and that you need to get your own act together.
I get you.
As a business owner of several businesses I can fully appreciate the annoyance that such business owners feel when yet another sales call is presented to them. So I get you. Lord knows, I, myself, hate most cold sales calls coming my way. But this call is one that you actually may want to sit up and go through. Perhaps you won’t be using the company or person who calls you first, but you do wish to make sure that you understand what the issues at hand is, for it has a bigger effect on your future business than you might expect off hand.
Don’t tell me you live off of referrals!
Yes, this is one response I have heard along the way. “No, we don’t do any marketing, we only use word of mouth”. Or “Yes, I have a website, but that’s not the kind of business I’m looking for at the moment.”
Really? Seriously? Are you even aware of what it is your are saying?
Even if you really believe you have a thriving business just from words of mouth (I have been and am still involved in a number of great businesses that benefit from vast referral business supplying us new clients and new revenue), you would be terribly foolish to close the door from other avenues of new leads and new clients.
Some of the responses we have met are along the lines, that “we are not focused on our website”. Well, that’s just not that smart. More and more (I would argue by far: most already) your business, your services and your products are found via the web. Even if we hear from others that we need to buy from this person or that business over someone else, we invariably still look them up on the web to check them out and to get a good feel that indeed they would be the right choice and the right fit for you. Even if your website is more there just to support your services or products, well, then ensure that it actually does a good job at supporting it.
Remember that I mentioned that more than 60% of all web searches are done from mobile devices? Well then, if you have a website, why would you cut off more than half your potential visitors? That is in fact what you are doing if you do not ensure your website is mobile-friendly.
“We are not really looking for that kind of business at the moment”.
Well, what kind of business are you looking for? Do you believe the business you might acquire from the web is worse than the business you acquire from elsewhere? No, if done correctly, your website might indeed bring you more of your ideal clients to you while repel the types of clients or customers that typically just cause you aggravation and wasted time and resources. If done correctly your website might actually pre-sell the visitor for you, so that your job of closing the order becomes a cinch – or indeed, your website may actually even complete the entire sales process for you and secure your order and accept your payment. So what’s not to like about all of that?
Up-keeping a website is usually a very small investment. Spending a bit extra on knowledgeable marketing insights implemented onto your site and it can generate a lot of business for you – now and into the future. Directly and indirectly. And guess what. It is working even when you are not. When you sit at home in the evening at your family dinner, or you are sound asleep in your bed at night or even when you are on vacation, well, even then, your website is working for you and it even doesn’t demand a large salary.
As you can gather, I believe that as a business (any kind of business) you really must invest soundly in your website (and possibly other web presence) and have it keenly on your radar. It’s a relatively small investment compared to all you can get from it. It does not preclude you from nurturing your referrals and other avenues for getting your new business in the door. To the contrary, your website may indeed serve to support all other avenues you may have. So make sure it actually fulfills this role well.
Your best opportunity may be now.
The algorithm change may in fact by your optimal opportunity to dominate the web searches and get even more business than before. As I mentioned earlier a vast number of websites are still not mobile friendly, and with gate keepers or even business owners themselves keeping marketers, web-consultants and web-agencies at bay along with all the other annoying cold callers, it may well be a while yet before they get up to speed.
This actually opens up for placing you at a better ranking with your website than all your competitors and may get you there quicker, more easily and with less of an expense. When you are making use of this open window before the others you stand to benefit from all the advantages. However, don’t sit around and just wait for it, for at some point the others are going wake up too. If not sooner, the other may start to wake up when after a while they realize that incoming leads have drastically declined some past months or if they are slightly brighter they may have checked their website statistics and noticed a dramatic decline in visitors. Well, perhaps then they may start to inquire why that is, and eventually find out about – Mobilegeddon.
But get in front of the train. Do it now. Update your website to a mobile-friendly website and make the most of it. It’s a small investment compared to what it will do for you and is in many cases paid for by the first new extra lead that walks in your door. It will pay for itself over and over and over.
Yes, as you will understand one of my businesses, Amazing Ideas Inc., offer these services for you and can help you out with this and so much more. But just so you understand, I’m not trying to lure you, but will underline my statements I have made in this article, by saying outright: If you do not do with us, then at least do it with someone else who is knowledgeable of what they are doing. Bottom line: Just make sure you do this and do it sooner rather than later.
To check if your website is mobile-friendly, Google has made this website tool for us: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
It’s a great opportunity. A rare open window for a lot of businesses. Make the most of it. Good luck and let me know about your success afterwards.
Yours Truly,
Mikkel Pitzner
PS. If you wish to test the mobile device search, then don’t search for your company name, because since that’s so specific and unique then you are likely to show up just fine. Instead search for the relevant search terms that you would like to be found under and then see if your website comes up. In other words, you may be looking for search terms such as lawyer, dentists, CPA, plumber or descriptive words like car repair, gardening supplies, and so on.
About Mikkel Pitzner
Originally from Denmark, but now residing in sunny Colorado in the USA, Mikkel Pitzner engages in many, varied projects and loves the diversity he finds in these. Some of these projects are projects that he starts himself and owns and operates, while others are projects he is partnering in with varied levels of active involvement. Other projects are other people’s businesses in which he may consult on short or long term basis, either as a consultant or as a board member or both.
Past experience include running the fourth largest car rental company in Denmark leading a generational change in this while merging with then existing company that franchised the Budget Rent A Car for Denmark, leading the complicated joining of two vastly different company cultures, while undergoing a complete implementation of brand new IT-system and implementing a brand new bookkeeping department and taking the company from a two location in the capital of Denmark company to a nationally present company with numerous locations including one franchisee and heading up sales and development of the leasing part of the company growing this by approximately 50%. And eventually heading up the preparations, negotiations and sale of the company spinning off the leasing compartment altogether first and splitting the rest to be sold off to two separate buyers simultaneously with take over date same day 6 months following the sale of the leasing department.
During the final few years of running the car rental company Mikkel Pitzner bought Copenhagen Limousine Service which profits he grew by no less than 3200% in the first year of ownership alone while running the company “by remote control” while running the car rental business. Eventually Mikkel Pitzner went on to buy up competitor “2B At Your Service” and established a separate sister company named “The Private Car Company” that would among other assignments handle crew transportation for big airline companies such as Air France and KLM including others such as Cimber Air and Martin Air to name a few. Subsequently a few years later also bought up competitor “Alterna Limousine Service” while also establishing “Scandinavian Limousine Service”. The limousine service companies held the highest esteem with the discerned clientele visiting the region and handled numerous high profile very big tasks including the pleasure of services no less than 3 US presidents, being George Bush, President Clinton and President O’Bama, the latter during the World Climate Summit meetings during 2009, servicing more than 200 limousines to the US Embassy of Copenhagen along with numerous other embassies, countries, royalties, celebrities, multi-conglomerates etc.
Mikkel also founded and successfully ran an import and distribution company of scuba diving equipment until that company was sold to a German distributor just a few years following the foundation.
Mikkel is a partner of Freetrailer (which comprises of Freetrailer Denmark, Freetrailer Sweden, Freetrailer Norway and soon Freetrailer Germany and other nations) and of a very unique advertising and marketing bureau in Denmark named Aksel & Ko, as well as a yet to be publicized company that operates a platform called “still proprietary information” making it possible for companies to operate all their rental businesses in new and more efficient ways.
A sought after professional board member Mikkel Pitzner currently sits on boards of companies spanning the US, Denmark, Sweden and Poland, including privately held as well as publicly traded companies.
Mikkel Pitzner holds an B.SC. of Economics from University College of London, England, from which graduated with honors in 1991 and has enjoyed shorter intense courses in Political Science and Game Theory from Columbia University in New York, New York as well as a business course for CEOs at Harvard Business School in Massachusetts also.
During recent years Mikkel Pitzner has placed sincere efforts into studying online marketing, packaging, promotion, positioning etc., with some of the absolute top names within this field. New projects currently under way aim to make use of this acquired knowledge and the new trends of this speedily evolving industry. Early to adopt the Social Media, he quickly became a Social Media Expert and will on occasion advice companies and professionals on their social media presence. He has taken this knowledge and establish a marketing company called “Amazing Ideas, Inc.” that helps entrepreneurs, professionals and businesses (private companies as well as publicly traded companies) obtain a hugely improved return on their marketing dollar while ensuring a sound and solid online presence. Amazing Ideas, Inc. focuses predominantly on the digital marketing and on what Mikkel calls “the digital dna” of its customers.
In 2011 he became a bestselling author with a book collaboration called The Art and Science of Success Volume 2, Proven Strategies from Today’s Leading Experts. He followed up with another book collaboration he was invited to with Brian Tracy, called The Only Business Book You’ll Ever Need, which also instantly became a bestseller when this was released in March 2012. Mikkel has continued his multiple best selling author status with 8 best selling books published so far. He teaches entrepreneurs how to create a business that will provide for the lifestyle of your choice while taking you off the treadmill of your job, so you can spend your time on things of your choosing. A list of Mikkel Pitzner’s books is given below (and he has several more under way):
The Art And Science Of Success, Vol 2
The Only Business Book You’ll Ever Need
Mikkel Pitzner’s Trade Secrets For Marketing Your Business Online
Masterminds’s Insights To Business Success
Mikkel Pitzner has been featured on CNBC, abc, CNNMONEY.com, Entrepreneur, Fox News, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Fast Company, SmartMoney, USA Today and NBC, America’s PremierExperts, Børsen, Berlingske Tidende, Erhvervsbladet and Näringsliv. Mikkel Pitzner was also a guest at the Brian Tracy TV Show, which has been aired on several large US TV Networks. He was a guest also at Amino TV, The Secret Entourage and radio program Money for Lunch.
Mikkel Pitzner is currently finalizing work on several information products on each its own topic, but all based on experiences of his own and from his vast studies and education. One of these products soon to be released teaches the basic tools need for entrepreneurs to run their business another on its way is the goal setting program.
Recently relocated from Florida to Colorado with wife Olga, son Gabriel and daughter Angelica and building several new business ventures simultaneously- 9 new businesses in fact, including RetailWise USA and Pivot Point Enterprises, all while helping several US and international businesses in a struggling and challenging economy.
Mikkel Pitzner is also a great networker and has build an extensive network of top quality professionals and resources from all over the world and he is an active Masterminder.
Privately Mikkel loves spending time with his little family, traveling the world including exotic places. He is an avid and very accomplished scuba diver and has co-founded the Project Baseline Gulfstream chapter, a very cool non-for-profit endeavor that is part of a worldwide initiative. He takes photos, likes to ski, is a movie buff and so much more. He loves great challenges and has completed a US Ironman Championship including numerous Olympic distance Triathlons and several Marathons.
From Mikkel himself:
“People I meet naturally ask me what I do just like I ask them the same question. but lately, I have found it difficult to offer a simple and concise answer to this, possibly because I do not do just one thing that more or less would define what I do.
I think the simple answer would be to call me a serial entrepreneur, but even that does not really tell you much of anything, does it?
So if, however, I was to let you know a little bit about what I currently do, then my reply would entail pieces of the following functions:
Very, very proud father to a beautiful and fantastic son, Gabriel
Very, very proud father to a beautiful and fantastic daughter, Angelica
Very, very proud husband to wonderful and dazzling girl, Olga
Consultancy on business plans, strategy and vision
Consultancy on marketing, website and social media marketing
Professional Board Of Directors member
Partner in a few private companies and enterprises
Small time investor
Mastermind group member and mentor
Bestselling Author
Speaker
And creator of programs designed to help individual, professionals and businesses achieve more and become more.
Student of life, Quantum physics and everything else. I read. I read A LOT. Mostly factuals and sometimes several books a day. Thank God for speed reading. Also thank God for great mentors and I have a few. Some dead and some thankfully still living. Some I just met via their books and writings others I know in person. I am grateful for their messages and their sharing. Most of all I am grateful for their brilliance.
I am currently building several new enterprises in several different and unrelated areas of activities.
I am always intrigued by great thinking, innovative ideas and great business opportunities and I suffer a little bit by being very excited about every new shiny object. However, with a fairly extensive experience behind me already with several mishaps (if indeed not failures) and some decent successes, then I seem to get better at dropping the more doubtful projects before I waste too much time on them and focus more on some that could pose really serious potential”.
To learn more about Mikkel Pitzner, please visit www.mikkelpitzner.com or contact him directly via contact details given below.
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Contact:
Mikkel Pitzner
888-988-2489
info@mikkelpitzner.com
