Mobilegeddon Report: 75 percent of social media “power influencers” are mobile-friendly

Didit Editorial

10 years ago

April 20, 2015: Forbes.com maintains a list of the “Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers,” and Didit wanted to check up on the mobile-friendliness of their web properties before Mobilegeddon kicks off in a couple of hours. The good news: three-quarters of these powerful, influential people have nothing to worry about when midnight tolls tonight.

Methodology

We tested each URL listed by Forbes against Google’s Mobile-Friendly Tool. A screenshot was taken and the type of error was noted. Because the Forbes list is not continually updated, in a few cases we tested alternate URLs to ensure that no inactive sites were tested. All testing was begun and concluded on 4/20/2015.

Results

48 sites were tested; 36 passed and 12 failed, making for a very healthy 75 percent pass rate. A 75 percent pass rate is very good and on par with results from the S&P 100. This rate was only bested by P&G brand sites.

Analysis

Social media influencers — even those whose sites fail Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, are not expected to suffer much in the post-mobilegeddon era, because most do not depend on their site traffic for the bulk of their social media interactions, instead building communities on Facebook, Twitter, and other 3rd party platforms. Even if organic visibility on mobile devices is reduced after 4/21, the resultant traffic likely represents a small share of people interested in their services.

Still, because 3rd party social media platforms are inherently unstable, and are capable of throttling access per the demands of their own internal business requirements, having a web site under one’s control can provide insurance against any such reduction in reach. For this reason it is recommended that social media influencers maintain active sites that render equally well on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.

Browse Didit’s Mobilegeddon Reports

a) Major U.S. PR Firms (published 4/2/15)
b) Large-cap companies on Long Island (published 4/6/15)
c) Major New York-based advertising agencies (published 4/9/15)
d) Major U.S. charities (published 4/14/2015)
e) Major “white shoe” law firms in the U.S. (published 4/15/15)
f) Big CPA/accountancy firms (published 4/15/16)
g) Top-rated New York-area hospitals (published 4/17/2015)
h) S&P 100 companies (published 4/17/2015)
i) Lawyers on Long Island (published 4/17/2015)
j) Large pharmaceutical companies (published 4/17/2015)
k) Notable restaurants on Long Island (published 4/18/2015)
l) Consumer brand sites of P&G, Unilever, and Kraft (published 4/20/2015)