How Mobile-First Indexing Will Affect Your Website
March 11, 2020
In 2018, Google began moving all websites over to mobile-first indexing. Since then 70% of websites have made the shift and Google recently announced that the remaining 30% will be moved to mobile-first indexing by September 2020. If your website isn’t optimized, your Calgary SEO services may take a major hit! Brands can no longer put their mobile site on the backburner. A mobile-responsive website must become a huge focus of your Calgary SEO strategy if you want to drive organic visits.
You may be asking yourself “What does mobile-first indexing mean? How does it affect my website and what changes can we make to our website to make it mobile-responsive?
How can I tell if my website has switched over?
If you have a website created after July 1, 2019, your website will already be using mobile-first indexing. If your website was created before that, use Google Search Console to see if your website has made the switch. This can be done by opening the Google Search Console Inspection Tool and determining what bot was used to crawl your website. Your website has been moved to mobile-first indexing if Googlebot smartphone was used to crawl your site. Your website has not yet made the switch if it has been crawled with Googlebot desktop.
Is your web page mobile-responsive?
Not sure if your website is mobile friendly? Google created a tool that allows you to test different pages of your website in seconds! Simply enter your URL into the search bar and Google will let you know if your web page is up to their standards!
Test your website by Clicking Here.
When raking your website, Google looks for a page that is mobile-responsive. Mobile-responsive sites have their content (text, images, video etc.) syncing dynamically between the desktop and mobile sites. Google prefers mobile-responsive websites because it allows the server to send the same HTML code to all devices. Mobile-responsive sites eliminate the most common user-experience issues (pinching, zooming and other annoying functions) and function on all devices, regardless of size.
Creating a Mobile-Responsive Website:
Whether your website has been switched over to mobile-first indexing already, or you have until the end of summer, these are the things that will make the most difference in your rankings! Pay close attention to these key elements.
- On-page content is the same on mobile and desktop versions
- Metadata is the same on both versions
- Structured data is the same on both version
These key elements will make a huge difference when Google crawls your web page! If you’re not sure where to begin, we can help. We have a variety of Calgary SEO services that will make Google love your website.
What Does Mobile-First Design Look Like?
Now that we’ve discussed the basics of mobile-first indexing and mobile-responsive websites, let’s talk about mobile-first design.
If you are designing or redesigning a website in 2020, we recommend you begin with a mobile-first design! The mobile-first approach is exactly as it sounds: designing for the smallest screen and working your way up. It is one of the best strategies to create a responsive or adaptive design.
60% of all Google searches are done on a mobile device. Only 5 years ago, the figure was nearly half that—34%. Google recognized the switch back in 2018 took steps to change its ranking system to reflect that. It’s time that web designers do the same! Designing for the smallest possible screen and working up will improve the user experience and will give your website a boost in Google’s organic results.
Want to learn more?
Mobile-first indexing and design are here to stay. It is going to be a critical element to consider when planning and developing or updating your current website. After all, your website represents one of your first points of contact for 60% or more of your customers.
If your curious about the readiness of your site or are looking to update and prepare for the upcoming changes, get in touch! We would love to discuss these concepts with your team and help you understand your website’s current mobile-ready status. We look forward to discussing Calgary SEO services with you.
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