{"id":4822,"date":"2019-04-17T10:41:49","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T17:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adprosmarketing.com\/?p=4822"},"modified":"2019-09-09T09:57:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T16:57:41","slug":"the-mobile-first-algorithm-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adprosmarketing.com\/the-mobile-first-algorithm-update\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mobile-First Algorithm Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Is the Mobile First Algorithm Update?<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Officially rolled out on March 26, 2018, the mobile-first algorithm update<\/a> reflects Google\u2019s decision to crawl a mobile version of a web page for the purpose of indexing it before\u00a0<\/em>it crawls the desktop version\u2014thus, the name \u201cmobile-first.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Year and a Half in the Making<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Google updates its algorithm hundreds of times per year, and some of these are so slight they go unnoticed. That\u2019s not the case for the mobile-first update–this is a big one! According to Google, they\u2019ve been testing mobile-first indexing for about a year and a half before finally rolling out the full update in March of 2018.<\/p>\n

One Big \u201cMobile-First\u201d Index<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prior to the update, Google primarily used the desktop version of a site for indexing. This Google algorithm update changed that. Now, Googlebot will crawl the mobile version first and then the desktop version for the purposes of indexing. Note that there is still just one big index\u2014not separate indexes for mobile and desktop.<\/p>\n

The Trend Toward Mobile and Why Google Rolled Out This Algorithm Update<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Since the inception of the Smartphone, more and more users have been accessing the internet from mobile devices. Today, over 60% of all searches are mobile searches\u2014that\u2019s right, we\u2019re quickly approaching total Smartphone saturation. Google has been following this trend towards mobile for a while, and this official update marks their commitment to offering a mobile-friendly experience for their users.<\/p>\n

What Mobile-First Doesn\u2019t Do<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Although this algorithm update is a fairly major one, it\u2019s not a total rehaul, and Google says there\u2019s no reason to panic. There are plenty of things that will remain unchanged in spite of the mobile-first update:<\/p>\n

No Ranking Advantage for Mobile-Indexed Sites<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In terms of SEO, Google says mobile-first indexing isn\u2019t about ranking at all: \u201ccontent gathered by mobile-first indexing has no ranking advantage over mobile content that\u2019s not yet gathered this way or desktop content.\u201d Still, the search engine giant reminds web developers that sites are evaluated in terms of their \u201cfriendliness\u201d toward mobile users, whether they\u2019re mobile sites or desktops sites.<\/p>\n

Content Still Reigns Supreme<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Perhaps most importantly, the update doesn\u2019t change the importance of high-quality, relevant content on your site. Google has always valued this kind of content above all else, and that remains their stance: \u201cWe may show content to users that\u2019s not mobile-friendly or that is slow loading if our many other signals determine it is the most relevant content to show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Desktop-Only Sites Are Still Indexed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you have a desktop-only site, you won\u2019t be excluded from search results because of this new algorithm update. You won\u2019t get the mobile-friendly boost, but you weren\u2019t getting it anyway, so not much will change for you. Still worried? Here\u2019s the confirmation straight from Google:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you only have a desktop site, we’ll continue to index your desktop site just fine, even if we’re using a mobile user agent to view your site.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Responsive Design and AMP Pages Aren\u2019t Affected<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve already implemented responsive design on your site, or if all of your web pages are built using AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) HTML, then you\u2019re good to go. The mobile-first update won\u2019t affect you since you were already prepared for it\u2014high five!\"\"<\/p>\n

How Mobile-First Indexing Affects Your Website (And What to Do About It)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To understand how the mobile-first algorithm update will affect your website, you need to assess your site\u2019s build. As we mentioned, if you\u2019re already using responsive design or AMP, then you\u2019re all set\u2014the update won\u2019t affect you.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if you use dynamic serving or have separate urls for mobile and desktop, then you\u2019ll need to make some changes in order to help Google better index your site.\"\"<\/p>\n

Consider Switching to Responsive Design<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you don\u2019t already run responsive design on your website, now is a good time to start thinking about implementing it. With responsive design, the content on your site will automatically adjust to fit any screen, whether it be a Smartphone, tablet, or PC. Responsive design is your best option for making your site mobile-friendly, so if you can, make the switch to responsive.<\/p>\n

AMP Up Your Website<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Creating all of your web pages using AMP HTML is also a good option, especially if you\u2019re building your site from the ground up. There are other advantages to AMP as well, including lightening fast loading for mobile users.\"\"<\/p>\n

Serve Up Equivalent Content for Desktop and Mobile<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re still using separate urls for the desktop and mobile versions of your site and can\u2019t update to responsive design or AMP right away, then there are still some steps you can take to optimize for this algorithm update. For instance, it\u2019s important to ensure that your content is the same on both versions of your site. Many mobile urls have significantly less content that their desktop counterparts. If that describes your mobile site, then you\u2019ll need to update it with the additional content from your desktop site. That includes not only text, but images and video content as well.<\/p>\n

Making Your Site Mobile-Friendly
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mobile indexing happens separately from Google\u2019s mobile-friendly assessment. Whereas Google says mobile-first doesn\u2019t affect rankings, you will get a significant boost by making your site mobile-friendly. \u00a0It may seem like a pain now, but rest assured this investment will continue to reap benefits well into the future as Google\u2019s algorithm continues to reflect the trend towards mobile.\"\"<\/p>\n

You can use Google\u2019s to dedicated tool to assess your site\u2019s mobile-friendliness. Just enter your url and click \u201cTest URL\u201d for instant results and recommendations.<\/p>\n

Moving Forward with Mobile<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With this latest algorithm update, Google has made it clear that it\u2019s prioritizing mobile search, so you can expect more of these types of changes in the future. Our advice? Take steps now to make your site as mobile-friendly as possible. That includes enhancing the user experience for your mobile visitors and <\/em>making your site easily indexed by Google\u2019s mobile crawlers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Is the Mobile First Algorithm Update? Officially rolled out on March 26, 2018, the mobile-first algorithm update reflects Google\u2019s decision to crawl a mobile version [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Mobile-First Algorithm Update | AdPros Marketing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about The Mobile-First Algorithm Update! 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