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July 17th, 2024

Mobile-first indexing: The Importance for Web Performance

Insight
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In recent days, Google announced the completion of their migration to a mobile-first index for Google search. Over the past seven years, Google has increasingly used smartphone crawlers to index the mobile versions of websites. Now, if a site’s content is not accessible on a mobile device, it won’t be indexed at all, effectively making the site invisible in search results.

This shift makes the mobile version of websites crucial for any SEO effort. From technical audits to content strategies, practitioners must now prioritise mobile performance at the core of their SEO campaigns. But what exactly is mobile-first indexing? When did it begin, and why the focus on mobile over desktop? What about sites that predominantly receive desktop traffic? This blog post will explore these questions, providing insights into the implications and best practices for mobile-first indexing.

Mobile-first Indexing: Definition and Evolution.

Before diving into what mobile-first indexing is, it is important to understand how search engines work to show search results to a specific user’s query.

  • The three stages: Crawling, Indexing, and Serving in SEO

Search engines operate in three stages: crawling, indexing, and serving results. Firstly, crawling is the process where search engines discover new and updated content. Web crawlers, also known as spiders, are software programs or bots that automatically access and process web pages to understand their content. Google uses these crawlers to discover URLs and the content associated with them. Secondly, once Google has discovered and processed the web pages, the piece of information extracted is stored in a massive database (called Knowledge Graph); the process of organising the information in a massive database is called: “indexing”. The last stage, serving, is a complex process. In simple terms, it involves displaying search results based on the user’s search queries. During this stage, search engines evaluate the indexed content and determine how closely it matches the user’s query. The results are then ranked and presented to the user in order of relevance.

  •  Mobile-first indexing in a nutshell

In the context of crawling and indexing, Google primarily uses the smartphone bot to crawl sites. While Google still employs desktop bots, the smartphone bot takes precedence in discovering and indexing content. This shift ensures that the mobile version of a site is the primary focus, reflecting the increasing use of mobile devices for web searches. This process, known as mobile-first indexing, was first announced in November 2016.

  • Mobile-first indexing: its evolution.

Why has Google been emphasising the mobile versions of the site over desktop versions? Why has Google been urging site owners to prioritise the mobile version over the past seven years? These questions refer to the evolution of the usage of smartphones from 2016 to nowadays.

Since 2016, Google’s emphasis on mobile usage in online searches has been deliberate. In that year, according to Statcounter Global Stats, a global market share comparison, revealed a significant increase in mobile usage, with mobile accounting for 52.9% versus desktop at 47.1% of web traffic worldwide. By 2019, mobile usage had risen by almost 4%, reaching almost 53% of web traffic worldwide. Nowadays, mobile usage has increased exponentially by almost 16% while desktop usage has decreased by almost 15%. The rapid development of mobile technology has made it easier for people to search for products and services on their phones, making mobile phones an essential part of daily life. This trend has driven Google to update its core algorithms to ensure more accurate search results.

Indeed, Google’s focus shifted significantly in 2016 with the introduction of mobile-first indexing. This change meant that Google bots began prioritising the crawling of the mobile version of sites’ content over their desktop versions. In essence, mobile-first indexing prioritises mobile content to ensure it is the primary factor in determining search rankings.

Google stated, “Our algorithms will eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages from that site, to understand structured data, and to show snippets from those pages in our results.” (Google, 2016) This marked a fundamental shift in how websites were evaluated and ranked.

Initially, mobile-first indexing was an experimental approach. By March 2020, Google announced its plan to use the smartphone Googlebot to crawl the entire web. Google said, “To simplify, we’ll be switching to mobile-first indexing for all websites starting September 2020. In the meantime, we’ll continue moving sites to mobile-first indexing when our systems recognise that they’re ready.” (Google, 2020)

Last October, after seven years of effort, Google completed the switch to mobile-first indexing. Almost all sites now have responsive versions, allowing smartphone user agents to crawl them effectively. Recently, Google reiterated that mobile-first indexing governs the crawling and indexing of all site content. Sites without a mobile version are now essentially off the radar.

Mobile-first Indexing and Technical SEO Audits.

The significance of mobile-first indexing as a core ranking factor demands a thorough evaluation of SEO efforts, particularly in technical SEO audits. A technical SEO audit is essential for any SEO Media campaign, as it involves analysing a site’s technical elements to ensure accessibility by search engines for crawling, indexing, and serving.

A standard technical SEO audit includes an assessment of mobile web performance, with a focus on evaluating Core Web Vitals. By analysing the Core Web Vitals for the mobile version of a site, practitioners can ensure that the site meets the criteria set by mobile-first indexing. This process helps confirm that the site is optimised for mobile users, which is crucial for maintaining and improving search engine rankings.

Mobile-First Indexing for B2B Business.

Despite the shift towards mobile-first indexing, some brands still perform better on desktop than mobile. For example, sites in financial services, B2B businesses, and software companies often see more desktop traffic. In these cases, Google does not penalise the site for having more desktop traffic but still prioritises the responsiveness and quality of the mobile version. This ensures that even if the primary audience is on desktop, the mobile version adheres to Google’s quality standards, particularly following the Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) guidelines, which focus on the accuracy and reliability of content that can impact a user’s well-being or financial stability.

Our Media team at Golley Slater prioritise mobile performance assessments in our technical SEO audits for our B2B clients. This focus is driven by data from GA4 analytics, which consistently shows that most of the web traffic now comes from mobile devices. Given this trend, B2B businesses must ensure their websites are optimised for mobile users to maintain competitive search rankings and provide a seamless user experience.

Our approach involves a comprehensive review of the mobile version of our B2B client’s website. We assess various factors, including page load speed, mobile usability, and responsive design. By identifying and addressing any issues, we help ensure that the site meets Google’s mobile-first indexing standards.

In addition to our technical audits, we stay updated on the latest developments in mobile SEO. This enables us to provide our clients with the most current best practices for optimising their sites. From implementing structured data and metadata consistently across both mobile and desktop versions to optimising media files and ensuring accessible design, we guide our clients through the necessary steps to enhance their mobile performance.

By integrating these mobile-focused strategies, we help our clients improve their search engine rankings, user engagement, and overall site performance.

A summary of Mobile-first indexing best practices

Google provides a comprehensive list of actions to ensure the best mobile user experience and meet its standards. Here are some of the most important recommendations:

  • There are three main ways to create a mobile-friendly site. Responsive design, where using the same HTML code on the same URL which can be displayed on any screen, is the top Google’s recommendation.
  • Ensure the site is accessible and crawlable by Google smartphone bots. This means the site must be immediately available for crawling so Google can render and understand the content.
  • Use the same content for both desktop and mobile to ensure the site can rank with the same keywords.
  • Implement structured data and metadata consistently across both mobile and desktop sites.
  • Optimise media files for both platforms, using high-quality and supported formats while avoiding dynamic URLs.

These practices are crucial for maintaining a high-quality mobile user experience and achieving better search engine rankings.

Mobile-first Indexing: Final thoughts.

As mobile usage continues to dominate web traffic, optimising for mobile-first indexing has become essential for maintaining and improving search engine rankings. Google’s shift to prioritise the mobile version of websites underscores the need for responsive design, consistent content, and thorough technical SEO audits. By adhering to Google’s recommendations and focusing on mobile performance, B2C and B2B businesses can ensure their sites are accessible, crawlable, and optimised for both users and search engines. Embracing these practices not only aligns with current SEO trends but also prepares businesses for future advancements in search technology. At Golley Slater, we are committed to helping our clients navigate these changes and achieve optimal performance in the evolving digital landscape.

 

Explore our media team offering and contact us today to optimise your site for mobile-first indexing.

 

Sources:

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