Another day, another Google algorithm change and this time it's about mobile search and mobile friendliness.
Many are calling it "mobilegeddon" or "mopocalpyse", but the idea of a sort of "spring cleaning for mobile search" might be more suitable as it indicates less panic and more action.
Today Google goes ahead with the algorithm change, announced at the end of February, which will rank sites on their mobile friendliness.
The idea, according to the search giant, is to make mobile search results as "relevant and timely" as possible as more people search via mobile devices.
Recent research from digital specialist Nucleus shows a 70% increase in mobile transactions in the past year and accounts for 29% of all online revenue.
Nucleus chief executive Peter Matthews says that those searching mobile won't have the patience to change devices to a PC or laptop if a brand has a poor mobile experience or worse no mobile presence.
"They will go to the next search result or brand that is mobile-friendly and that satisfies that impulsive desire to get the information or make that purchase there and then. So, brands are essentially referring their customers to competitors."
Matthews adds that travel has been hampered by slim margins and boardroom scepticism and that when you look at search results, it is often the online travel agencies that have invested in an overall digital strategy that takes in website, booking engine, mobile, social media, analytics and marketing.
However, given the impact of Google on how travel is researched and booked, many companies will likely sit up and take notice now.
Google itself has indicated that responsive design for websites is the way to go and this will therefore come into how it ranks sites for mobile friendliness.
Just over a year ago, many travel sites particularly airlines, were not performing so well when it came to mobile, with research from 8 Million Stories showing that only one out of 50 carriers was using responsive design and 22% had not even implemented a mobile site.
Simon Heyes, co-founder of digital agency 8ms, says a few more airlines such as KLM now have responsive sites and, estimates that because updates tend to be introduced in the US first, it will be a couple of months before the Google changes begin to adversely affect businesses.
He adds however that consumer behaviour on airline mobile sites is different to desktop and therefore it could take companies longer to implement a strategy.
Heyes advice is for companies to at least assess how much traffic they are getting from mobile and have plans in the pipeline to make mobile front of mind.
BMI Regional sales and marketing director Colin Lewis says companies that have come from a PC/desktop perspective no longer have an option but to be mobile compliant.
He says that about a third of the site's traffic comes from mobile so the airline is assessing how much traffic it stands to lose. Add to that the fact that conversion rates on mobile for BMI Regional is lower than for desktop.
"It's a bit chicken and egg. If it was completely mobile enabled, would it (conversion) be higher? My gut says it would not. A small handset is used for a different reason. Mobile is for customer service."
Lewis adds that conversion via tablet devices is slightly higher demonstrating it is used for bookings so there is a chance the carrier could take a hit there.
"It's like a subset of subset. People who use tablets to search for our rates, click on those results and then make a booking. In the interim I don't believe people are going to make too much of a hit. They may go down in the rankings but customers rely on laptops and desktop more."
That said, over the medium to long-term, Lewis acknowledges that won't be good enough and the airline has seen a shift from desktop of about 10% in the past year.
BMI Regional has a new website in the wings which will be unveiled in the middle of this year which is mobile enabled and uses responsive design. A mobile application is also under development for launch around the same time.
Lewis believes many travel companies will be in a similar position and points out that they don't control their destiny in terms of having to work hand-in-hand with third-party technology suppliers.
Whether companies have a mobile strategy in place, are about to unleash a responsive site or are taking a more wait and see approach, there are a couple of things they can do.
Google is providing a testing site here and according to research carried out by Somo, sites such as P&O Cruises and Ryanair do not look to be in great shape.
While they might have mobile apps and mobile sites in place, they still might not be judged mobile friendly as with Ryanair for elements such as the size of text or not allowing Googlebot fully access to pages.
The search giant also provides a guide for webmaster on making sites mobile friendly.
Not everyone believes responsive is the only way forward for the travel industry. Glenville Morris from Mobile Travel Technologies says apps shouldn't be overlooked as a good way to provide engaging content and often a better mobile experience.
Back in February, Google said it would start using information and content from indexed apps more prominently in search and it has also indicated Android apps will get a boost in mobile search rankings.
Lots to travel companies to digest in the coming weeks and you only have to check the comments section on the Google Webmaster blog following the announcement to gauge the emotional reaction this latest change is provoking.
By and large, there is a feeling that this should be seen as a good thing for consumers and the travel industry. Mobile isn't just for millennials and it isn't going to go away.
Even disregarding the Google move, the advance of wifi, new devices with bigger screen sizes and the sheer ease of sharing content via mobile devices will all continue to feed the beast.
And, a final word - Google has also tweaked the mobile algorithm in a bid to remove long URLs replacing them with simpler ones based on site structure. Read more here.
NB: Mobile search image via Shutterstock.