Is your blog truly mobile-friendly? Find out for sure in just 30 seconds

As I mentioned here and here, both Google and Bing now give mobile-friendly websites an extra boost in their search engine rankings. That’s why I strongly recommend that you add a mobile-friendly theme to your blog if you haven’t done so already.
If you think your blog might already be optimized for mobile, you can find out for sure by typing your blog’s URL into Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool. The tool will make a very quick scan of your blog and tell you in seconds whether it’s truly mobile-friendly in Google’s opinion. 
If the test results state that your blog is indeed mobile-friendly, you’re in great shape. If not, I recommend that you get it optimized for mobile ASAP so your pages can get a boost in the search results.
There are basically two ways you can make your blog mobile-friendly if it runs on the WordPress platform:

1 – Install something like WordPress Mobile Edition, a free WordPress plugin that works extremely well and instantly converts most any WordPress blog into a mobile-friendly website.

Once installed and activated, the WordPress Mobile Edition plugin will display your blog using its own mobile-friendly theme every time someone visits your blog with a mobile device. Those who visit your blog with a desktop or laptop computer will continue to see your blog the same way they always have.

2 – Another great approach is to replace your current theme with a responsive theme. In a nutshell, a responsive theme is a single theme that will detect whether a visitor is using a traditional PC or a mobile device and automatically format your blog accordingly. There is no need for a plugin.

If you decide to go this route, I recommend paying a few bucks for a quality theme framework such as Genesis from the folks at StudioPress or Thesis from DIYthemes.

In my opinion this is money well spent, especially if you use your blog to earn affiliate commissions or advertising revenue. Sure, there are free responsive themes out there, but there are several reasons why I don’t really recommend them.

Bottom line: Google and Bing have both made it very clear that you MUST have a mobile-friendly website if you want to maximize your search engine traffic. Whether you decide to go the free route by installing a plugin or spend a few bucks on a quality responsive theme, I recommend that you get it done ASAP.