Google's Mobile-First Indexing: What You Need to Know

Two years ago, Google implemented its mobile-first index, the search engine's new system for crawling and indexing the web. In the past, Google crawled and indexed desktop pages first. Now Google prefers mobiles pages.

Announcing this change, Google noted the search engine would "eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site's content to rank pages from that site, to understand structured data, and to show snippets from those pages in our results" (Source).

At the time of the transition, Google already used mobile content "for over half of the pages shown in search results globally," as the search engine noted, and the numbers have been growing since. 

Is your website compliant with mobile indexing? For an easy answer, take Google's "Mobile-Friendly Test." You can also perform a "website performance audit" your site performs well on all devices.

If your site is mobile-friendly, you're good to go. If your site is not "mobile-friendly," your rankings may be impacted.

As Search Engine Land has noted: "If your desktop pages are different from your mobile pages both in terms of content and structured data, then your rankings may be impacted."

In other words, if you've placed undue emphasis on your desktop site, optimizing desktop pages without regard for your mobile site, you should change course.

At the very least, as Google continues to move all websites to mobile-first indexing, the search engine will prefer competitor's sites that have been optimized for mobile.

Is it Time to Panic? 

If your website is not ready for mobile-first indexing, you may feel a sudden sense of anxiety. Will your site lose its spot on the SERP? Will you lose rankings? Probably not. So don't panic. After all, it's not "mobilegeddon."

Several years ago, Google made a flurry of announcements about its mobile-friendly signal, warning about "critical mobile usability errors" and urging sites to optimize for mobile. Some SEOs predicted a Mobilegeddon--a dramatic shift in rankings that might destroy any site not optimized for mobile.

In the end, mobilegeddon was a "non-event." A few weeks later, Mark Munroe, who wrote an analysis of the numbers, noted: "I have direct access to several sites that are extremely mobile unfriendly to the point of being mobile-nasty. And yet … I can barely discern a difference."

In its announcement about mobile-first indexing, Google noted that it only moves a site to mobile-first indexing when it is ready--so the search engine is taking a softer tone this time.

Still, the point remains: If you're not mobile-friendly, and you're competing to fulfill a browser's needs with a site that emphasizes desktop pages, you will likely lose traffic--and potentially business.

Mobile-First Indexing: What You Need to Know 

In the past, Google said the mobile-first index would not significantly affect rankings. However, now this may not be the case (for the reasons noted above). And, of course, mobile-friendliness is not simply about rankings--it's about user experience (which indirectly affects rankings).

A website may appear on mobile devices without mobile optimization, but it will look and perform poorly. We're talking about sites that require pinching and zooming to read the content (yes, these sites still exist).

The solution to the problem, however, is exceedingly simple. As Google notes, "If your site uses responsive design techniques, you should be all set!"

SEO Sparta optimizes all sites for mobile and desktop with a responsive design, which formats a website for every device.

Need Mobile SEO Help? Call SEO Sparta 

E-commerce is now a mobile game. If you sell a high-quality product that deserves customers, you also deserve a well-optimized mobile website.

Do not let the changing search landscape compromise your sales. Now, more than ever, you need the astute wisdom of a professional search engine optimization professional.

SEO Sparta performs comprehensive mobile website audits. Call our offices in Bucks County, PA, today to learn how to improve your website's mobile performance: 215-900-9398.

If you are interested in transforming your website into a money-making tool or are interested in exploring opportunities to outperform your competition, we encourage you to contact SEO SPARTA.

We combine traditional marketing methods and organic SEO--emphasizing natural website optimization--to design thoughtful, inspiring, and effective marketing campaigns.

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