Time to read: 7 minutes
Over the past couple of years, Google has implemented mobile-first indexing, changing the way the search engine indexes and ranks sites. In this post, we’ll give a quick overview of what mobile-first indexing entails and what it could mean for your website.
Before the Change
In the past, Google’s crawling, indexing, and ranking systems have tended to utilize the desktop version of a site when obtaining information about it. This was fine in the early days of the internet era, but as mobile search has expanded in popularity, and with many sites now having a mobile version of their site, this has created some problems for mobile users.
For some sites, the content available on the desktop version vs. the mobile version is drastically different, with written content, graphics, videos, and site layouts all potentially being less user-friendly on the mobile version.
Google is very invested in providing positive user experiences, so mobile-first indexing is a way to encourage companies to make sure their mobile versions are worthwhile.
So, What’s New?
As mobile-first indexing’s name indicates, Google will now index your site by way of your mobile version. If you do not have a mobile version, your desktop version will still be the indexed version. Thus, “mobile-first” denotes that the mobile version will be chosen as the default for any crawling, indexing, and ranking.
- The mobile-first index is not separate or an offshoot – there will be only one index, as there has always been, but mobile will just be prioritized.
- Desktop users and mobile users will still see the same respective versions of a site, which won’t change. The indexing only affects the “behind-the-scenes” aspects of your site.
- Google does not expect its total number of crawled URLs per day to change, but mobile crawling will become the norm over desktop crawling going forward.
- For sites that utilize separate URLs for their desktop and mobile versions or engage in dynamic serving, Google has provided best practices to help make the transition.
Emphasis on Mobile-Friendliness
Having a mobile-friendly or responsive site is not a requirement for Google’s change, and mobile-first indexing will not play a direct role in your site’s ranking.
However, the importance of having a mobile-friendly and responsive site is well known and is something we’ve reported on in the past.
Sites that are effectively designed for mobile users perform better, and, with more and more users utilizing mobile for their everyday searches, having a responsive site is incredibly important.
Some problems nonresponsive mobile sites often have include:
- Oversized or undersized graphics
- A confusing layout
- Difficult to read and access text
- A slow speed
If the mobile version of your site were to have these issues, then you could be doing yourself some real damage going forward. Mobile-first indexing will choose that (hypothetical) poor site version to judge your content by, instead of a clean, functional one.
With this in mind, make sure your site is effectively structured for any mobile users.
Is It Important to Be Mobile-Friendly?
It is, and we have some data to prove it. Our team has compiled a range of key SEO stats and mobile search stats over the years, so here is a roundup of prominent ones that illustrate the importance of having a strong, mobile-friendly site.
- Almost 63% of the organic search traffic from Google search in the U.S. originates from a mobile device
- As of May 2024, the average number of searches per day conducted by those using mobile devices was 51
- 98% of people who use the internet do so from a mobile device at least some of the time
- Touchpoints with customers can come from a lot of places, since 91% of people will use their phones to look up info while in the middle of other tasks
- Along with this, when customers are in a physical store, 82% will search on a mobile device for more info about a product, meaning businesses with good deals online might just nab the sale over the brick-and-mortar competition
- Users have an average click-through rate on mobile devices of more than 50%, highlighting that they are motivated and ready to convert
- 87% of people who own and use a smartphone conduct searches online every day
- Companies are recognizing the value of mobile search and optimizing their businesses for it, since in 2022 they spent $327 billion on mobile marketing advertising, with the $400 billion mark expected to be crossed in the coming years
- Along with this, approximately 64% of online advertising spend is committed to optimizing mobile results
- By 2028, it’s estimated that approximately 70% of total ad spend will be devoted to mobile
- Almost 55% of the global organic search traffic originates from mobile devices, illustrating how mobile is outpacing desktop usage in the modern world
- 20% of mobile searches use the voice-to-text feature, so optimizing posts on your site for naturalistic keywords is a viable strategy
- More than half of the people using mobile phones to search online have found new businesses or products
- It’s been reported that 60% of smartphone users have reached out to a company straight from mobile search results, such as through the “click to call” function
- Mobile has a strong impact on local searches as well, since 57% of local searches originate from a mobile device or a tablet
- 40% of shoppers online will leave their shopping cart and not make a purchase if a site is not mobile-friendly and is causing them too much frustration
- Mobile has a big impact on B2B as well as B2C, and B2B businesses dedicated 48% of their marketing to mobile efforts in 2022, with the 50% threshold expected to be crossed by 2024
- Apple still has significant dominance in the smartphone industry, as approximately 3 out of 10 smartphones worldwide are iPhones
- By 2028, approximately $256 billion of the social media advertising market is expected to be generated from mobile
- 70% of all paid search impressions come from mobile devices
- Best of all, 92% of users who search for goods or services via a mobile device will make a related purchase
Other Factors That Affect Indexing
While mobile-friendliness and responsive design choices are fundamental ranking factors for Google and other search engines, there are plenty of others to optimize your site for, including:
- Metadata – Meta names and meta descriptions help Google to understand the focus of a page, and every page on your site should have some form of optimized metadata.
- Page titles and page headings – The title of your page, identified by an h1 tag, gives Google the clearest indication of what your page focuses on, so they can deliver the right users to your site. Secondary headings, denoted by h2, h3, and subsequent tags, can touch on related topics and common questions, broadening your searchability.
- Keywords – As one of the most vital aspects of SEO, keywords are used throughout a page’s content, including in the aforementioned metadata, titles, and headers, to match users’ search intent to bring them to your site.
- Images and video – Content is essential to creating a strong online presence, but that’s not just limited to written copy. Multimedia is prized by both users and Google due to its interactivity, ability to more clearly illustrate products and concepts, role in assisting diverse learning styles, and more.
- Site structure – Google wants users to be able to easily interact with the sites they visit, so having a clear and user-friendly site structure in place helps to satisfy this goal, setting you up for positive rankings.
- Site speed – Speed is also a key factor since sluggish websites lead to poor user experience and potential customers taking their business elsewhere. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights test to see where your site stands.
Need Help with Your Mobile Site?
If you want to make sure you’re complying with Google’s recent changes, or if you just think your mobile site could use a tune-up, reach out to the team at Sixth City Marketing.
This post was originally published in October 2018 and has been updated to reflect new information.
