Google’s Mobile-First Indexing Begins

Last month we shared the news that Google is in the final stages of introducing a mobile-first indexing.

As per that latest development, Google will have two separate indexes: one for desktop search results and the other one for mobile search results. As mobile continues to grow in usage, Google has decided to make a separate mobile-first index and treat it as the primary index for search results.

At that time, the mobile index was supposed to be live within months. As per recent developments and reports, Google’s mobile-first index is now fully active and has started working.

This is a major shift to how Google has indexed its search results so far. With the mobile-first index now fully active, we share a few tips that will help you get ahead of the curve.

• Ideally, you should have identical content across mobile and desktop. If that is the case, you do not have to worry about anything. If not, you should consider making some changes along those lines.
• It is very important to have structured markup for mobile mobile and desktop versions.
• The mobile version of your website should be accessible to Googlebot. Use the robots.txt testing tool to make sure that’s the case.
• You should verify the desktop version of your website as well as its mobile version in Google Search Console.
• It is very important not to launch a half-baked mobile version of your website. Currently, Google would prefer a fully functional desktop website than a half-baked non-functional mobile website. According to Google officials: “a functional desktop-oriented website can be better than a broken or incomplete mobile version of the site.”

The mobile-first index is a significant change. As it has just started working, the story will continue to develop and evolve. We will keep an eye on the latest trends and what it leads to. And, as always, we will continue to update you as more news come forward.