In September, Google ramped up its rollout of the much-awaited mobile-first indexing update to the wider web. While it\u2019s still too early to tell how exactly this change impacts your SEO efforts, the update clearly shows Google wants to give mobile users a better online experience\u2014and you definitely should, too.
\n\n\n\nNow that the SEO world has fully gotten over the five stages of grief that typically accompanies important Google updates like this one, it\u2019s going to be much easier for us to find useful insights and best practices on how to properly respond to the change.
\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s what we\u2019ll detail in this blog post. We\u2019ll first take a close look at some possible ways Google\u2019s mobile-first update can affect your SEO activities. We\u2019ll then go over a number of practical steps to help you build a mobile-first SEO strategy.
\n\n\n\nWhen Google first made its first mobile-friendly update in 2015, a lot of SEO folks dubbed it \u201cMobilegeddon\u201d amid worries that the algorithm tweak could mess up page rankings.
\n\n\n\nMuch of the fears later turned out to be overblown. But that didn\u2019t stop many in the industry from once again bringing up the idea of mobile apocalypse after Google announced its plans for mobile-first indexing in 2016.
\n\n\n\nMobile-first indexing, in Google\u2019s own words, means the search engine uses \u201cthe mobile version\u201d of a webpage for indexing and ranking to better help its \u201cprimarily mobile users\u201d.
\n\n\n\nPreviously, Google used the desktop version of websites to crawl, index, and rank pages. Now that mobile searches outnumber desktop searches, Google is starting to index and rank mobile websites.
\n\n\n\nHere\u2019s what that means for your SEO efforts:
\n\n\n\nWith this update, Google mainly wants to serve as much mobile content to mobile users as possible, since mobile searches now account for 60% of search queries.
\n\n\n\nThe company further clarifies that:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMobile searches now account for 60% of search queries.
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As Neil Patel points out, mobile-first indexing doesn\u2019t mean mobile-only. That\u2019s because the way the new indexing works is that it prefers (read: not replaces) mobile content over desktop when determining page rankings.
\n\n\n\nIn other words, if your website doesn\u2019t have a mobile version, the desktop version still shows up on the mobile-first results. Google will continue to crawl and index your desktop pages.
\n\n\n\nIn fact, Google Webmasters made this point abundantly clear in a previous tweet:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOn requirements: Neither mobile-friendliness nor a mobile-responsive layout are requirements for mobile-first indexing. Pages without mobile versions still work on mobile, and are usable for indexing. That said, it’s about time to move from desktop-only and embrace mobile :)
\n\n\n\n\u2014 Google Webmasters (@googlewmc) June 14, 2018
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Since the new update prioritizes mobile content, then it\u2019s natural to think that optimizing your website for mobile users will boost SERP rankings. But it\u2019s not as straightforward as it sounds.
\n\n\n\nGoogle explains that being switched to mobile-first indexing doesn\u2019t guarantee better SERP rankings. While mobile-friendliness helps determine where a website will end up in results pages, it\u2019s certainly not the only factor that Google takes into account.
\n\n\n\nStill, as TechCrunch points out, Google notes that having a site\u2019s mobile-friendly content indexed under the new mobile-first update will likely help the site \u201cperform better\u201d in mobile search results.
\n\n\n\nRelated: 10 Undeniable Ways Mobile is Reshaping B2B Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]
Each time Google unveils a major update to its page ranking algorithm, it forces us, marketers, to rethink our SEO strategy.
\n\n\n\nBut mobile-first indexing is a little different from most Google changes in that it reminds us what SEO is fundamentally about: helping users find what they\u2019re looking for.
\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s what your strategy needs to achieve. Forget about rankings or penalties first. Start with improving the user experience (UX).
\n\n\n\nRelated: How to Manage Google’s Mobile First Indexing for SMBs
\n\n\n\nWe already saw that mobile-friendliness isn\u2019t a requirement for ranking in mobile-first results. However, keep in mind that we\u2019re not after SERP rankings here. We want to deliver the best possible UX, so we want users to fully experience our site regardless of the device used.
\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019re not sure whether your site is optimized for the different sizes of mobile screens, the first step is to find this out using Google\u2019s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
\n\n\n\nMaking your site mobile-friendly boils down to two development philosophies:
\n\n\n\nGoogle has explicitly mentioned that pages delivered as part of responsive web designs or through dynamic serving are indexed in mobile-first results. But, the better option would be responsive web design since it does away with the difficulty of managing two different sites.
\n\n\n\nMobile searches uncover rich insights on user intent that your content needs to meet. For example, research carried out by Think With Google shows that mobile searches can reveal a lot about user behavior:
\n\n\n\nAll this indicates that it can be a bit misleading to try to generalize what kind of content works for mobile-first indexing. Each of these actions involves one of three queries (navigational, informational, and transactional), and each query, in turn, can be addressed with its own page, content, and messaging.
\n\n\n\nFrom making relevant information easy to find, to ensuring that the desired action is easy to do, mobile-first needs consistent and continuous user experiences.
\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s because the bulk of online activities now take place in fragmented, instantaneous interactions with mobile devices.
\n\n\n\nSome of these moments (when mobile users want to know, go, do, and buy something) are known as micro-moments.
\n\n\n\nMicro-moments are important touchpoints in your SEO strategy because it\u2019s in micro-moments where mobile users are most interested and engaged.
\n\n\n\nLeveraging micro-moments means delivering a smooth and seamless mobile journey for your target users:
\n\n\n\nRelated: Why B2B Marketers Need to be in the Micro-moment
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWith a swipe taking about a second you need content that will inspire in at sub second speed.
\nTimothy Hughes
To help us see how a mobile-first mindset impacts real-world marketers, we previously reached out to a number of key influencers to tell us about their experience with this development so far. Timothy Hughes, founder of Digital Leadership Associates and social selling pioneer, said it best:
\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We have switched over to mobile first. So everything we design has to be tested on mobile\u2026. We have moved to a personalized approach as well as understanding that mobile moves at a faster pace. With a swipe taking about a second you need content that will inspire in at sub-second speed. The good news is that if you get it right, the response, engagement, and results are faster too.
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Make your website ready for Google mobile-first indexing with practical tips and ideas from a number of experts, including first-hand insights from Timothy Hughes of Digital Leadership Associates.
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