If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you would have recently received an email from Google Search Console saying that mobile-first indexing has been enabled for your site. But what does ‘mobile-first indexing enabled’ actually mean?
In our latest T-Time show, Tillison Consulting MD Mark Tillison gives you a bite-sized guide to mobile-first indexing: not just what it means and why it’s happening, but also the best practices for mobile first indexing.
In this T-Time show:
- What mobile-first indexing means
- What mobile first means for your SEO
- Best practices for mobile-first indexing
What does mobile-first indexing mean?
(00:37) Around 52% of web pages served globally are served on mobile devices. Google has responded to this trend by prioritising mobile user-friendly content, hence the term ‘mobile first’.
Having mobile-first indexing enabled for your site should not be a huge cause for concern, providing you already have a responsive website design. This means that the content users see on mobile is the same as what they see on desktop, so you won’t need to take any action.
What mobile first means for your SEO
(02:00) Again, if you already have a responsive site design and the content is identical across both mobile and desktop devices, then you shouldn’t see much of a difference to your site’s search engine rankings when you have mobile-first indexing enabled.
However, in terms of mobile user experience, it obviously becomes much more important. It’s likely that the mobile user experience on your website is a ranking factor, as well as a factor in how users perceive your brand and how long they stay on your site.
We would highly recommend using the PageSpeed Insights tool to ensure that mobile loading times on your site are optimised and that your site is generally mobile-friendly.
Best practices for mobile-first indexing
(03:34) The mobile-first indexing rollout has been progressive but there’s really no need to panic about having mobile-first indexing enabled for your site. The only thing you need to be sure of is that your mobile user experience is as good as it can be.
If you need more help with improving your mobile user experience, check out our list of 29 helpful tools and resources to make your website mobile-friendly.
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If you have any questions about your mobile user experience, let us know in the comments, or click below to speak with one of our specialists and find out more about our free User Experience Audit.
