Mobile-First Index for all sites on Google starting in March. What does this mean?
The Mobile-First rule was first introduced by Google back in 2016. Since then, favoring pages adapted for mobile devices has been tested and gradually became an important ranking factor. As of March, major changes related to Mobile-First are coming. Here’s a look at them and the implications for many websites.
What is the Mobile-First Index and why was it introduced?
Mobile-First Index is one of the most important ranking factors. It is a way of evaluating websites in terms of their responsiveness, or adaptation to mobile devices. For many years, browsing from a computer led the way. Today, more than 50% of web traffic is generated by users of mobile devices. It is estimated that this number is growing by about 2% every year. At first glance this doesn’t sound impressive, but it’s worth realizing that in absolute numbers these are hundreds of millions of unique users. Due to the ever-increasing number of mobile users, Google decided to gradually introduce the principle of focusing on mobile sites. As early as 2016, the Mobile-First Index was being tested, and over time its importance has increased. Nowadays, the majority of page indexing is done by Googlebot for smartphones.
What has changed since March?
The big change, which will take effect as early as March 2021, is that from then on, pages in the computer version will not be indexed at all. Only the mobile version will be taken into account for ranking a site – everything we want to get noticed by Google must be there.
How do I prepare my site for the latest changes?
Adapting websites for mobile users is not a simple thing and requires the time and expertise of an experienced programmer and SEO specialist. However, it is worth noting a few basic things that may indicate the need for consultation. First of all, it is necessary to access our site from a mobile browser and carefully “click through” it to see if everything displays without problems. A common problem is poor scaling of images, slides, or dynamic elements (such as pop-ups or animations). It is also worth looking at how the menu works and whether it is intuitive for the mobile user. The next step is to make sure the site can be indexed by Google’s robots on smatrphones. It’s a good idea to check the robots.txt file for blocked pages and Google Search Console for an error message about the site displaying on mobile devices. It is also very important to check the speed of the mobile version of the site. You can do this yourself using PageSpeed Insights. We wrote more about this topic here: Core Web Vitals – why you should check them on your site?
What does the future hold for us?
Optimization factors for mobile versions of websites can be expected to become increasingly important to Google. Therefore, you should follow the latest tips and considerations to improve your site’s search engine ranking. Don’t have a responsive website or online store yet? Get in touch with us.
