Is your business ready for Google’s “Mobile-First” index? It’s a method which will change the way your website is ranked on search engines (SERPs). Here are few things which will if not already push the next generation of websites for business which have not already hopped on the bandwagon in having their website responsive and mobile friendly.
Let’s go briefly on what Google accomplished with Mobile-First index. What’s all the big fuss about and why are they using a Mobile-First indexing? As most of you know Google crawls each and every website to make sure it can index the correct links/website on search results. This is why most websites have a Sitemap to help Google crawl your site. Google has created something beyond just crawling your site as a desktop user and build an algorithm that can crawl your site as a mobile user which distinctions between a desktop version of your website and mobile. This will impact all perfect which are none responsive and lack the mobile compatibility hindering not only rank as well consider your site to be hostile to mobile users. Why the use of mobile-first index now? Everyone will agree on is that the growing mobile users surpassed the number of desktop users in the sense that most of you that are tech savvy enough to do everything on a mobile device. Google mentioned that there are more mobile searches than desktop searches and it makes perfect sense to crawl pages as a mobile user.
What do you do if your website isn’t mobile friendly? We are not expressing this out of the desire to gain more business or to attract more audience but as an FYI to move in the direction that will gain more profit to your business than fall in love with a design. Rest assured Google will crawl and index desktop version of the websites but you will lack the mobile audience and as a result which can hinder many businesses online.
Will the new Mobile-First indexing change rank? As is usually the case with new changes, the Mobile-First indexing shouldn’t affect search results or crawl at this stage as they have suggested its too early to tell. If you are amongst those that do not have a mobile friendly website, you shouldn’t expect certain keywords to rank affect mobile search results.
When does Google launch the new Mobile-First index? Google has already released their Mobile-First crawler but an exact date has not yet been specified to when the rollout will be completed as it’s still in testing phase. Web sites can easily verify their structured markups across both platforms by using Structured Data Testing Tools and also verify if your site is mobile accessible with Robot.txt Tools. All website owners if not already verified your mobile version on Search Console should take some time to do so. If you are looking to transfer your existing website to a mobile friendly platform or looking for a web design company that provided free consulting to get you on track, follow us on all social media platforms and remember to #enveos as well engage us with your questions.
