What is mobile first indexing?
These days Google takes into account the mobile version of a website for indexing and scoring in the SERPS. Now, it is important to define what indexing and SERPs are. The first concept refers to the process that search engines perform to collect information from the Internet and organize it in indexes. With this we arrive at the concept of SERPs. The indexed content is classified and hierarchized to determine the order of the content in the search engine results pages.
The mobile first indexing is a Google crawling modality fully deployed in July 2019 due to the increase of mobile searches (Seobility, n.d). The objective of this implementation aims to ensure users a good search experience, as well as valuable content that adapts to any screen size.
How does this affect SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
The relationship between mobile first indexing and SEO lies in the variables to consider when looking to improve a website. Since Google is prioritizing content for mobile versions, developers should pay attention to elements that enhance the mobile experience. Based on Seobility content and Google Search Central, making an accurate search engine optimization should follow the following criteria:
- Ensure that you have a responsive design that can be viewed regardless of the user’s device.
- Pay attention to the loading speed of the website.
- Optimization of rich snippets.
- Good placement of ads on mobile devices.
- Good quality visual content despite limited space.
What should we do when doing SEO?
In short, the mobile first index promotes the optimization of the mobile versions of a website due to the increased mobile searches. If a website does not offer functional, responsive and attractive content for mobile versions, it will not rank well in SERPs. So it is advisable to pay attention not only to the quality of the content, but also to its adaptability and responsiveness in all formats.
References
Seobility. (n.d). Mobile First. Retrieved from https://www.seobility.net/es/wiki/Mobile_First#cite_note-2
Google Search Central. (n.d). Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices. Retrieved from https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/mobile/mobile-sites-mobile-first-indexing