Microsoft has announced it will update search engine Bing to add support for a new search algorithm which will give more prominence to “mobile-friendly” websites.
“Based on data from user’s interaction with Bing, we have seen that mobile users are able to satisfy their information needs much faster on searches that return more mobile-friendly results. With that in mind, we will be rolling out mobile friendliness as a signal in ranking,” Microsoft’s Shyam Jayasankar noted in a blog post.
The change, announced Thursday, doesn’t mean that mobile-optimized sites will necessarily appear at the top of results.
“This means that for mobile searches on Bing, you can always expect to see the most relevant results for a search query ranked higher, even if some of them are not mobile-friendly. While the changes will improve ranking for mobile-friendly pages, webpages that are highly relevant to the given query that are not yet mobile-friendly will not get penalized,” Jayasankar added.
The Bing Mobile Relevance Team also highlighted some of the factors that Bing will take into account when judging a site’s mobile friendliness including navigation, readability, scrolling and compatibility.
The team informed that the changes are likely to be introduced “in the coming months”.
“Mobile-friendly webpages are key to satisfying on-the-go information needs, so it is important to optimize sites for an increasingly mobile user base,” the blog post read.
“We are very interested in hearing your thoughts on mobile friendliness and any feedback you may have on our plans. Join the conversation about mobile ranking — give us your feedback through the Bing Listens portal.”
Google also announced last month that it is implementing the same search algorithm on its search engine.
