Is your website Dark Mode compatible? 

Is your SEO rank at risk if it isn’t?

Google’s Chrome recently announced support for Dark Mode – an increasingly popular setting that turns white backgrounds to black and turns black text to white. It’s a more comfortable viewing experience, especially on tablets and cellphones. But does Dark Mode compatibility affect your best practices for SEO and ranking? In short according to Google’s John Mueller – no. But it’s still something you should consider. Search Engine Journal did a fantastic write up about this so do check it out for more info. 

During the Google Webmaster Central hangout on October 18th, Google’s John Mueller was asked about Dark Mode and if it affected SEO rank and how content is presented. Dark Mode currently does not affect how Google’s search algorithm crawls your website. It’s a setting within your website’s CSS and that doesn’t run afoul of how Google and other search engines index your website. At least not yet.

Mueller coyly mentioned that Dark Mode isn’t a ranking factor but jokingly said that if it becomes popular – it might be:

“I don’t think dark mode would be a ranking factor. So, maybe, at some point in the future if dark mode is really, really popular then maybe we would need to highlight dark mode sites in search when people have their phone set to dark mode. But I don’t know if that would actually happen, or if it will really go that far.”

Is Dark Mode the New Best SEO Practice?

So, no – Dark Mode doesn’t currently affect your SEO ranking. However, the thing you need to consider in the here and now is your website’s bounce rate. More search is done on tablets and cell phones, and a lot of that search traffic is happening in the morning and evening when people are likely to have dark mode turned on to ease the experience on their eyes. Making your website Dark Mode compatible may be something to consider to help potential new customers enjoy your website.

Looking at our clients' analytics we regularly see a spike in activity in the early bedtime hours where people presumably are viewing websites in low light conditions. How we chose images, website design layout, font, colors - all of that is a consideration for the viewer to make the website an enjoyable experience. If Dark Mode is the next big settings trend it's something you may want to add to your CSS. 

Michigan SEO Group – Best SEO Practices for Ann Arbor, MI Area Businesses.

Dark mode is a growing trend. With search dramatically moving towards mobile devices, you need to consider how mobile-friendly your website is. Dark Mode is a popular growing setting that makes it easier for people to read website content in darker rooms – so it’s something to consider enabling. 

To find out your website is best SEO practice compliant – Contact Us or give us a call at 734-619-0736 for a free website analysis!