How mobile-friendly is your local news/engagement website? Starting April 21, this could begin to make a substantial difference in how people in your community find your content (or not), once Google changes how it delivers search results to smartphones.

When it comes to finding any kind of local information, smartphones rule. Over half of all Google searches done on smartphones are conducted with the intent of finding local results. Recognizing this, Google announced that on April 21, Google Search will start ranking mobile-friendly websites higher in searches done on smartphones.

The flip side of this is that sites which are not mobile-friendly will effectively be penalized in mobile search results. For local-oriented sites, this could be especially bad news.

In a recent presentation, Crystal Ware, head of search engine optimization for Location3 Media (a Denver-area digital marketing agency) said that she expects the April 21 algorithm update to have a bigger impact than some well-known earlier updates, such as Panda or Penguin. "But if you're not quite ready, and your search visibility suffers, you can make adjustments and probably start getting better results ASAP," she said.

This search algorithm update will affect how individual pages in your website get indexed, not just your home page. So website owners should focus first on fixing top-priority pages: those currently receiving the most traffic, or which you currently wish to feature or promote. If your website is too large to test every page, Ware recommends using Google's Mobile-friendly test to test each of your page templates (not just your home page), then fixing problems in your most commonly used templates.

Google's guide to mobile-friendly websites offers more specific advice. Responsive web design is the most highly recommended approach to mobile-friendliness -- but even if you don't have a responsively designed site, fixing the mobile problems on your highest-priority pages or templates is a good start.

Local news publishers have other options for enhancing local search visibility. Andrew Shotland, a search optimization consultant who writes the Local SEO Guide blog, and who has worked with several major news sites, offers these tips:

1. Build landing pages that focus on popular local subjects or events. This would be a page that aggregates your latest coverage and backgrounders (as well as links to relevant organizations or resources and social media accounts). The concept is similar to the NY Times Topic Pages, but need not address every part of your site, just the most popular content.

This approach is ideal to highlight a particular beat or ongoing story. Local school board meetings, politicians, and and planning issues are examples of coverage that might warrant a landing page. "Make sure that these pages are regularly updated with fresh news and have great content. Over time these page types can rank well for relevant local queries," said Shotland.

2. Apply to get your site included in Google News. Make sure that your articles adhere to the Google News publisher guidelines.

3. Partner with relevant local sites for headline syndication. Municipal government websites, chambers of commerce, and other sites might be willing to syndicate your site's headlines, with links to your site. It might even make sense to request this kind of syndication from competitors, such as local newspaper sites, since "citations" from other news sources is an important part of the Google News ranking algorithm. Even if they won't syndicate your headlines, encouraging them to share your content via their social media channels can ultimately improve your local search visibility.

4. Consider building a directory of local businesses. Since local news publishers are likely in contact with many local businesses via ad sales, Shotland recommends, "Offer them free profiles in your directory, to which they can add content to make them unique. These directories can drive valuable local traffic." Such business guides might be focused in a way that adds value, such as locally-owned or women-owned businesses.