Google has just officially announced the implementation of its mobile-first indexing. Well, this isn’t surprising for many SEO specialists as they have been quite vocal about the importance of mobile-friendly content for quite some time now. Only now Google has officially confirmed what they have been saying to their clients.
What does the mobile-first indexing indicate?
For those of you who lack a basic understanding of how Google algorithm works, the mobile-first indexing refers to a transformation in Google’s search engine listing algorithm. Google relies on a website’s content among various other variables, list websites according to their relevance, and other good practices. This latest shift from Google means that the web crawler from Google will be focusing on the mobile version of websites more than the desktop version, which means websites with mobile-friendly content, and compatibility will benefit for their good practices. This update is also in-line with the industry trends, where we have been seeing an increasing number of searches from mobile devices. In fact, it has been almost two years since the mobile searches have surpassed desktop searches, which clearly indicates that people depend on mobile search results more than ever.
Who’s going to gain with mobile-first indexing?
Well, since the mobile searches have surpassed desktop searches, websites with mobile-friendly content, and design are to gain most from this update. Too many users have put their concern with Google over incompatible website content for mobile devices. The traditional listing depended on desktop version’s content, which causes problems for mobile users, at a time when the site isn’t mobile-friendly. Thereby, apart from websites with mobile-friendly versions, users are also going to gain the most from this latest update from Google.
Will this update penalize mobile incompatible websites?
Well, at this point of time websites with no mobile version aren’t going to penalizes. As per the Google stance, desktop websites will continue with their representation over its search engine, for their desktop versions. However, it might not be the case in forthcoming. Thereby, it is essential for the website owners to adapt mobile-friendly website versions as soon as possible, in order to avoid any future penalties, which might be rolled-out by the search engine giant in future.
Google has increasingly shown its tendency to prioritize websites with mobile friendly version. This current update in direct in-line with what we can expect from Google in near future. The search engine giant has been encouraging website owners to make their website mobile compatible, this includes fresh, relevant content, and a dynamic design optimized for mobile devices. With the implementation of mobile-first indexing, SEO specialists can now safely assume that mobile friendliness is going to be a compulsion in near future.
Wrapping Up:
– As expected, Google has rolled out its initial implementation of mobile-first indexing. Though at this point in time it isn’t going to disadvantage websites with no mobile website presence.
– The search engine giant has once again shown its preference in favor of mobile-friendly websites’ content, and design.
– Mobile friendliness isn’t the only component taken into consideration for search engine listing, and the other components retain their relevance to achieve top rankings in Google’s search engine.
Read more: Rolling out mobile-first indexing
To learn more, read : Best practices for mobile-first indexing