Small Business Marketing Resources

Have you received an email from Google Search Console saying, “New Mobile Usability issues detected for site”? If so, there’s a good chance your website is actually fine. 

In this article, we will review what the email notification looks like, explain how to check whether it is valid or due to a bug in Google’s program, and recommend what to do if there actually is or isn’t a mobile website usability problem.

A. What Does the Google Search Console Mobility Usability Issues Detected Email Notification Look Like?

The email notification from Google Search Console looks like this:

So, in this example, there are three ‘issues’ that are making this site a problem for mobile devices:-

• Clickable elements too close together
• Text too small to read
• Content wider than screen

B. How To Check Whether It Is Valid Or Due To A Bug In Google’s Program

First, click the big blue ‘Fix Mobile Usability Issues’ button in the email you received from Google. You’ll be taken to Google Search Console, where you can view your website’s “Mobile Usability” report.

You can also view those three warning messages (from the email) again, as well as Google’s estimate of how many pages have this issue.

Click on one of the error rows in the report’s “Details” section (either does). This will take you to a new page with additional information, as shown below:

The ‘Examples’ section is where you should focus your attention since it tells you exactly which page(s) Google identifies as an issue.

When you click on a row in the ‘Examples’ section, a sidebar will appear, with the option to “TEST LIVE PAGE”. Click this option to let Google test this page.

Once Google has tested the page, it will provide you with a ‘red’ or ‘green’ report stating whether your page is mobile-friendly or not.

Here is an example of what you are hoping to see:

C. What To Do If There Isn’t A Real Mobile Website Usability Issue

If your page is in the ‘green’, just close the ‘mobile-friendly test’ window to get back to Google Search Console. After that, click the “Validate Fix” button at the top of the previous screen:

Google will display a notice that says, ‘performing quick initial validation’ (for around a minute), and will then say, ‘Validation started.’

In about a day or so, Google will typically send you an email to confirm the problem is fixed even though nothing has actually changed. Yes, you have discovered and experienced a Google bug. If you receive an email saying the fix failed, simply follow the same steps above 1-2x again to give Google the chance to correct itself.

D. What To Do If There Is A Real Mobile Website Usability Problem

If your website actually fails Google’s “Mobile-friendly test,” you definitely want to have a web developer look at your website and make any necessary changes. 

At the same time, be sure to ask any web developer you reach out to whether a single web page of your website is failing this test or your entire website is. 

We also recommend receiving at least two independent quotes or assessments of this mobile device usability issue. 

Fixing this issue could be fairly simple or quite complex, and so you want to make sure whichever web developer you’ve hired to analyze and fix it knows what they are doing and can get it done at a price (money and timewise) that fits your situation. You also want to make sure they are familiar with broadly supported web technologies, test their solution using multiple mobile browsers, etc.

Lastly, you yourself and a few friends of yours who are mobile users will want to get on your mobile devices to review your website. You will want to confirm that any web pages you have gotten fixed are fixed and that any actual mobile usability issue (e.g., if you actually did have clickable elements too close together, fixed-width viewport property issues, etc.) that needed resolution has been resolved.

E. Why Is Passing Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Important?

Although the above is a Google bug that many can just dismiss, we want to make one thing clear. If your website actually is not mobile-friendly, you will receive these same warnings as well – so please don’t just brush them off if you’re not sure! 

As Google’s algorithms are “mobile-first” and as most websites visitors are on mobile devices (60%+ depending on the industry) these days, having your website mobile friendly is absolutely worth getting right.

​What: Make your professional profile easier to find online.
Why: People search online and you want search engines (“Google”) to list your preferred professional online identity first so people can easily find you.

Evidence/Example: Search “Dave Sue” to see where I rank, even compared to a published Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Western Washington University who has a number of academic journal entries and a book on Amazon.

Key Questions:

1. Who do you want to find you? Who is your desired primary audience(s) or DPAs?
2. Where online besides Google and Linked-in do they look? What sources do they trust?
3. When you search for your name online and in the places defined in #2 above, what do you find?
4. What (i.e., info, photo, etc.) about yourself do you want to share professionally online?

Use the inputs from #4 and put them into all the places defined in #2; share the same information (and photo if possible) consistently across different platforms. Also, diffuse any negative listings found in #3.

​Level One (i.e., basic places to start):

1. Update your Linked-in profile (or create one if you don’t have one; it’s free).
2. Use a custom Linked-in address or URL (http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname).
3. Follow basic Linked-in tips (e.g., make sure you have solid recommendations from people who you are not giving a Linked-in recommendation to, etc.).

Update it and make sure you’re OK with anyone reading it. Assume nothing on Facebook is private.

1. Get a Twitter account and name it @firstname+lastname or @initials.
   [If you have one already, switch your Twitter account to @firstname+lastname or @initials]
2. Add a short bio to your profile: a brief, high level overview.
3. Start following people and subjects relevant to your industry.
4. Be active! Tweet daily news articles you find interesting. Reply to people who share interesting things. Be part of the conversation and the community!

READY TO EXPLORE A MARKETING LIFT?

What: Understand the basics of building a website.
Why: To save you time and money – i.e., so you won’t purchase more than you need OR try to save money and end up creating something you will not be able to use anyway.

Example: Before I built this current WordPress website, I operated for 2 years with this initial website www.lift-sme.com I built myself for $0 upfront (2016) and <$200 per year to keep and maintain it. I had www.miyim.com built for $2.5K+ upfront (2016) and used to paid just a few hundred dollars monthly to maintain it (until we decided to manage it ourselves). 

TWO BASIC STEPS

1. PLAN out your website – i.e., purpose, functional requirements, ROI expected.
2. PAY for a domain name, a place to host it, and the DIY website builder program to build your Website OR pay someone else to take care of part or all of this for you.

IS IT REALLY THAT SIMPLE?

​Like everything else in business, there are hundreds of ways to describe, assess, and (unfortunately also) complicate website building. The fact that every advice giver has their own agenda + the overload of easily accessible info to everything = hours (and money) easily wasted and headaches.

TWO BASIC QUESTIONS​

It is for this reason that we at Small Business LIFT start by asking website inquirers two questions :

1. PLAN. What is the END GOAL or the purpose of your website? Or, what FUNCTION does your website need to fulfill within your marketing plan? Is 90% of your business through referrals and so you just need a digital business card so people can get more information on you? Is most of your business local so a strong Google Maps presence is actually more important for you than a highly optimized website? Or do most of your customers find you through a Google search and are your competitors stealing your customers via Google Ads and other digital tactics?

Here’s a chart to help match your website END GOAL with our recommended question #2:

2. PAY. What do you want to pay to accomplish your PLAN (from Q1)? Do you want to pay more money to save yourself time? Do you want to spend more of your or your team’s time in order to not pay an outside vendor or digital marketing agency?

WHY SPEND WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE TO?

Although a lot of small business people tend to think saving money is better than saving time, the danger with that approach is that website building can get quite involved, tedious, and complex quickly (e.g., website security, staying abreast of the changes Google makes to its algorithm, automatic updates made to WordPress themes that end up “breaking” plugins, etc.).

In other words, while it is always smart to not pay for something you don’t need, it is also smart to avoid spending a lot of time on YouTube, Google, etc., learning a little about things not essential to your business only to end up with a subpar product that you need to pay someone later to start-over or fix.

SIMPLE RULE OF THUMB

If you’ve more discretionary time than money, DIY; if your working on some other part of the business will earn you more money than it costs to hire someone, hire out.

NEXT STEPS

So what do you need your website to do? And what do you want to pay for it?

We at Small Business LIFT always recommend THINKING BEFORE DOING and so hope this saves at least a few small business people from either unnecessary purchases or a lot of time wasted. If your small business marketing plan requires a more involved website or you need help putting an actionable marketing plan together, we would love to connect.

DIGITAL MARKETING PACKAGE

READY TO EXPLORE A MARKETING LIFT?

Updated: 2020 March

What: Calculate how much revenue you can expect monthly given your current sales and marketing activities.
Why: If your sales funnel is not producing more money than it costs you, you are wasting your money.

Small Business LIFT Sales Funnel CALCULATOR

Enter and adjust your actual or hypothetical sales funnel information under “Enter Information” to see your “Results.” This is a simple example of the tools we use to do a marketing audit/review.

If you are struggling to develop clear revenue projections, we trust that the complimentary tool above at least points you in the right direction. While some small businesses get started by happenstance and survive the first few months or even year or two without much planning (i.e., by good fortune or simple luck), every small business owner discovers that luck does not last forever.

Planning, financial analysis, and hard decisions are critical, especially in ambiguous realm of marketing. If having a trained marketer and strategist use the type of thinking illustrated by the SALES FUNNEL CALCULATOR above to help you overcome your current business challenge, please do not hesitate to reach out today.