It is finally here and being rolled out Mobile First Indexing. Historically, Google has primarily used the desktop version for search results, not anymore. With mobile-first indexing Google will now predominantly use the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking. The new mobile-first indexing means that Google will look at your site’s mobile version before the desktop version, if a website has both, mobile will be the one indexed. What should you know? If your site is:
- Desktop only – The mobile version is the same as the desktop version.
- Canonical AMP – The mobile version is the same as the desktop version.
- Separate URLS – Google prefers the mobile URL for indexing and will show the mobile over the desktop.
- Responsive Web Design – The mobile version is the same as the desktop version.
- Dynamic Serving URLS – Google prefers the mobile optimized content for indexing and will show this over desktop.
- AMP and Non AMP – Google prefers the mobile version of the non-AMP URL for indexing and will show this over desktop and AMP.
Why mobile first indexing? Since more searches are now being done mobile devices than desktops, this is a way for Google to make sure that the users find content that’s optimized for their screen. If a site does not have a mobile-friendly version then Google will still crawl and index the site as-is. As far as rankings goes. Google assures us that mobile-first indexing will not have an impact on rankings.
How will you know when your site is switched over to mobile first indexing? Sites that have been migrated to mobile-first indexing will be notified via Search Console. Site owners can also expect to see an increase in crawl rates from the Smartphone Googlebot.
Google has also warned that having a mobile-friendly version of the original desktop site might not be enough. Google said “As always, ranking uses many factors. We may show content to users that’s not mobile-friendly or that is slow loading if our many other signals determine it is the most relevant content to show”.
The day of mobile first indexing has arrived.
