To paraphrase Captain Kirk: All brands, brace for impact! Next week Google Inc. will roll out a major change to its mobile search algorithm that could significantly reduce search rankings for companies and organizations whose websites are not properly configured for viewing on mobile devices.

To paraphrase Captain Kirk: All brands, brace for impact! Next week Google Inc. will roll out a major change to its mobile search algorithm that could significantly reduce search rankings for companies and organizations whose websites are not properly configured for viewing on mobile devices.

The change, which was announced in February and begins to take effect on Tuesday, April 21, is being described by the Silicon Valley search giant as a way to help mobile users find more high-quality content that is optimized for their devices, but many smaller companies and even some large ones worry that they will get left behind after the changes are implemented.

“We have received a lot of concern from our customer base, I think because of all the news and warnings,” said Bill Nagel, chief marketing strategist and co-founder of Netsertive, which connects brands with local businesses and is a Google Premier SMB Partner. “Google is really serious about this.”

Like with Google’s previous algorithm tweaks, there are many unknowns in terms of how websites will be affected, but Nagel said Google has been proactive in trying to soften the blow, first by giving more advance warning than it normally does, and second by providing tools that allow website developers to test their pages for mobile friendliness and check for issues. Website owners can plug their URLs into Google’s “mobile-friendly test” bar and find out instantly if their site passes muster.