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What does it mean when we say a website is “mobile-friendly?” What about a website that is designed for mobile devices from the ground up? Is there a difference, and if so, what is it?
These are all questions that will be answered in this post as we explore the topic of mobile-first indexing in SEO. But before we get into the nitty gritty details, let’s start with a high-level overview of what mobile-first indexing is and how it will impact your website.
What is mobile-first indexing in SEO?
Mobile-first indexing is Google’s way of saying that they’re now using the mobile version of your website as their primary source of information when determining rankings. This is a shift from the traditional desktop-centric approach, where the desktop version of your website was used as the main source of information.
Google made this change because more and more people are using mobile devices to access the internet. In fact, according to StatCounter, mobile devices accounted for 51.53% of global internet usage in 2018.
What does this mean for you and your website? Well, it depends. If you have a responsive website, then you’re in good shape. That’s because a responsive website is designed to look and function well on both desktop and mobile devices.
However, if you have a separate mobile website (i.e. a website that is designed specifically for mobile devices), then you need to make sure that the content on your mobile website is comparable to the content on your desktop website. Otherwise, you could see a drop in rankings.
How will this impact my website?
The impact of mobile-first indexing on your website will depend on a few factors, including whether or not you have a responsive design and the amount of traffic you’re getting from mobile devices.
If you have a responsive design, then you shouldn’t see much of an impact, since your website is already designed to look and function well on both desktop and mobile devices.
However, if you have a separate mobile website, then you need to make sure that the content on your mobile website is comparable to the content on your desktop website. Otherwise, you could see a drop in rankings.
The amount of traffic you’re getting from mobile devices will also impact the extent to which mobile-first indexing affects your website. If most of your traffic is coming from mobile devices, then you’re likely to see a bigger impact than if only a small portion of your traffic is coming from mobile devices.
What do I need to do to prepare for mobile-first indexing?
If you want to make sure that your website is prepared for mobile-first indexing, then there are a few things you can do.
First, if you have a separate mobile website, make sure that the content on your mobile website is comparable to the content on your desktop website. This means having similar pages, titles, meta descriptions, etc.
If you don’t have a separate mobile website, then you don’t need to do anything special in preparation for mobile-first indexing. That’s because responsive websites are designed to look and function well on both desktop and mobile devices.
Finally, keep an eye on your Google Search Console data. This will help you keep track of any changes in your website’s ranking or traffic as a result of mobile-first indexing.
Conclusion
Mobile-first indexing is an important change that could impact your website’s ranking in Google search results. If you have a separate mobile website, it’s important to make sure that the content on your mobile website is comparable to the content on your desktop website. You can also prepare for mobile-first indexing by keeping an eye on your Google Search Console data.
What is mobile-first indexing in SEO?
Mobile-first indexing is a change that Google has made to the way they rank websites in search results. With this change, Google is now using the mobile version of your website as their primary source of information when determining rankings.
How will this impact my website?
The impact of mobile-first indexing on your website will depend on a few factors, including whether or not you have a responsive design and the amount of traffic you’re getting from mobile devices.
What do I need to do to prepare for mobile-first indexing?If you want to make sure that your website is prepared for mobile-first indexing, then there are a few things you can do.
First, if you have a separate mobile website, make sure that the content on your mobile website is comparable to the content on your desktop website. This means having similar pages, titles, meta descriptions, etc.
If you don’t have a separate mobile website, then you don’t need to do anything special in preparation for mobile-first indexing. That’s because responsive websites are designed to look and function well on both desktop and mobile devices.
Finally, keep an eye on your Google Search Console data. This will help you keep track of any changes in your website’s ranking or traffic as a result of mobile-first indexing.
Conclusion:Mobile-first index
Jamie Fallon is an SEO expert who lives life to the maximum, redlining every day on a rollercoaster straight to the grave.
In an SEO career of almost ten years, he’s seen it all, he’s done it all, and he’s not impressed: from white text on a white background to today, when you can have robots paint or write for you like some kind of sick science fiction come true.
No matter what life throws at him, Jamie always manages to come out on top. He’s an expert at seeing the silver lining in every cloud and making the best of every situation. His positive attitude and unshakable faith in himself have seen him through tough times. For some people, success goes to their heads; but Jamie never forgets what got him to wherever he thinks he is.
When he’s not busy gaming the system, you can find him writing angry thinkpieces on how Google is ruining everything good about the internet, or hanging out with his wife (pictured).
