Mobile-friendly update (2016): the ranking boost and what applies now

What Google changed#

In April 2015 Google began using mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal in mobile search. On 16 March 2016 it announced a follow-up: “beginning in May, we’ll start rolling out an update to mobile search results that increases the effect of the ranking signal.” The post, by software engineer Klemen Kloboves, did not describe a new signal, only a stronger effect for the existing one, and only in mobile results.

Google stressed two limits. Sites already mobile-friendly “will not be impacted by this update.” And relevance still came first: “the intent of the search query is still a very strong signal,” so a page that is not mobile-friendly could still rank well with great, relevant content.

When it rolled out#

Google gave the month, not a day: the rollout began in May 2016, so the start date used here is approximate. On 12 May 2016, Google’s John Mueller wrote on Twitter that “the mobile changes mentioned here are now fully rolled out.” That is the completion date Google stated.

What is known about its impact#

Google published no impact figures. Search Engine Roundtable noted at the time that most ranking trackers watched desktop results, so they could not show a change that affected mobile results only.

The update is often called Mobilegeddon 2, after the industry nickname for the 2015 update. Google never used either name. According to Search Engine Journal, when Mueller was asked if this was Mobilegeddon 2, he replied “No, not really.”

What site owners should do#

Google no longer describes a standalone mobile-friendly ranking signal. Its current page experience guidance says its core ranking systems “look to reward content that provides a good page experience,” and asks site owners to check several aspects together:

• Does your content display well on mobile devices?
• Do your pages have good Core Web Vitals, and are they served over HTTPS?
• Do they avoid excessive ads and intrusive interstitials?
• Can visitors easily tell the main content apart from everything else?

Google also says there is no single page experience signal, so fixing one aspect alone is not a strategy. Relevant, helpful content remains the priority.

How to check whether it affected you#

This is historical. Search Console keeps only 16 months of data, so May 2016 is not in it. If you kept analytics from the time, segment Google organic traffic by device and compare mobile traffic in April 2016 with late May. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists the updates around it.

Related updates#

• The 2015 mobile-friendly update introduced the signal this update boosted.
• The intrusive interstitials update was the next mobile page change.
• The Speed update made page speed a factor in mobile search in 2018.