Websites risk being cut from Google searches

The requirements included being readable on smaller phone screens, not using software that was not compatible on mobiles and having links spaced out to make searching on mobiles easier for users.

Auckland based marketing consultant Fleur Revell from Impact PR said she had looked over websites of the NZX's top 50 companies earlier this month and found that half failed Google's online mobile readiness tool.

'Dynamic businesses that can adapt rapidly to Google's 500 algorithm changes each year will reap the rewards, while others will be relegated to virtual obscurity as their rankings slip off the coveted first page of Google,' she said.