Google Makes Mobile Focus of Strategy

Are you spending money on search engine marketing using AdWords?  Well, soon you will need to not only look at how your own site and keywords perform, but also how well optimised for mobile search your site is - even if you are not explicitly trying to target mobile users.
This is because Google have now announced that how well a site is optimised for mobile users will soon be accounted for in your Google AdWords Quality Score.  Once the algorithm has been updated, better mobile-optimised sites will be likely to perform better in AdWords keyword auctions.  
Why are Google doing this?  Well, in the words of David Nachum, Google's product manager for mobile ads, "A poor mobile web experience can negatively shape a consumer's opinion of a brand or company and make it hard for them to engage or make a purchase".  According to Google, it is also cost effective, with optimising your website for mobile driving an increased amount of traffic for a lower cost.
Google have already made moves in this direction, having started to limit ads served to smartphone users if the ads pointed to sites that it determined were not optimised for mobile devices.  The June launch of Google Mobilise, tools designed to help businesses optimise their mobile sites free of charge, and the UK release of optimisation tips service Get Mobilised will all contribute to the continued push for businesses to effectively "mobilise".