There is no denying the power of the mobile platform. These handheld devices have worked their way into our everyday lives. Many people access the web entirely or primarily from a smartphone. There were approximately 3.7 billion unique users in the global mobile population as of January 2018. That’s a huge potential audience for any business.
What Is Mobile First Indexing?
Mobile first indexing is a shift away from web content designed for desktops and a move toward content that’s made for mobile. The term refers to changes to Google’s algorithm that began rolling out earlier in 2018. The update means that Google uses the mobile version of websites for ranking and indexing instead of the desktop version.
What Does This Mean for My Website?
If your website utilizes a responsive design, then you will likely not see any significant changes. The problem is with websites that have more content on their desktop version. Any content that helped with SEO may be skipped if it doesn’t appear on the mobile site. Your pages could rank lower if you fall into that category.
What Can I Do to Prepare My Site for Mobile First Indexing?
Make sure at minimum you have a mobile-friendly design in use. It is best to have a site that is mobile first for best practices to adhere to the Google algorithm. Also, check your pages and make sure you are serving the same content on mobile as you do on your desktop version. Your site should load quickly and be optimized for performance as well. Contact OMA Comp to learn more about prepping your business website for mobile first indexing.