Mobile ranked results in Google. What if responsive doesn't work?

[Whitey]

With Google set to launch mobile friendly results versus desktop, in 2014, there seems to be a bit of a puzzle.

Matt Cutts ✔ @mattcutts

Follow @joshbachynski @rustybrick right, I tried to clarify that for the most part mobile should only affect mobile ranking. [twitter.com...]

Some verticals have just not coped at all with mobile responsive designs. They're there, but they look lousy - I'm talking very well resourced companies, but the vertical is just too hard to translate onto mobile.

Really, it's not as good as messing around with a desktop version which is well designed.

How do you suppose Google will handle this from a ranking viewpoint? Have you seen similar experiences in your vertical that you anticipate won't translate properly.

[ColourOfSpring]

Some verticals have just not coped at all with mobile responsive designs. They're there, but they look lousy - I'm talking very well resourced companies, but the vertical is just too hard to translate onto mobile.

I agree that a lot of responsive sites are absolutely awful from a usability perspective. Some developers seem to think responsive design = good usability, rather than responsive design with good usability = good usability. On many responsive designs, no more pinch and zoom is replaced with all the content being shoved far down the page.

[netmeg]

On many responsive designs, no more pinch and zoom is replaced with all the content being shoved far down the page.

Well and that's part of the problem, because I for one (with my aging eyes) would much rather scroll down than pinch and zoom. I might not be the only one.