To put it simply – Google is making every effort to make the web more mobile-friendly. And the mobile-first approach is just one of the continuous recommendations it is implementing.
We have created this guide to let you know what mobile-first indexing actually is and how it could affect your business. After all, you don’t want to lose the rankings you have worked so hard for!
This approach it very much as it sounds, the idea that the starting point for designing your site should prioritise being mobile-friendly. This is because mobile design is the hardest to achieve, being the smallest screen and having to fit a whole website in a way which looks presentable and still shows the information the visitor will need.
By starting with making your site mobile friendly, you will have to only stick to the essential content and features on the site, because bulks of text simply won’t fit and won’t look appealing. You will need to consider the user-friendliness of your mobile site, including limiting content (however hiding keyword rich content on your mobile version can mean you will drop now that mobile is assessed first), and ensuring that buttons are big enough to be pressed by a visitor using any touch-screen mobile device. If you opt for the mobile-first indexing approach, you will likely find it much easier to design for desktop and other devices as you will have an expanding canvas to work with.
At SEO CoPilot, we strongly recommend taking on this method of website design because, not only does it make it easier to design for other devices, but your rankings could actually drop if you don’t follow the guidelines for making your site more user-friendly across a number of devices. You should consider redesigning your mobile version, taking into account this update and including the features which are recommended by Google.
We’ve established that it is important to make your site mobile friendly, but where do we start? Firstly, although it is important to listen to Google’s notification – there’s no need to panic. The first announcement from Google regarding mobile-first indexing came in November 2016, however there has been continuous testing since and we are only seeing gradual impacts on rankings. So you do need to consider mobile-fist indexing if you want to remain/ get to the top positions of Google, however you still have time. But remember, if you are planning on giving your site a redesign to ensure that it follows the mobile-first index guidelines, this will take time, so you should consider starting the process sooner rather than later (just to be on the safe side!).
Stay calm, we’re here to help. To get you started with understanding what Google is looking for in a mobile-friendly site, here are the basic features you need to include:
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If you’re worried about losing your rankings by not following Google’s mobile-first indexing announcement, but feel like you’ve been thrown in the deep end, you may need a professional to help you. With knowledge of both website design and SEO, we are confident that we can design a site for you which is mobile friendly and prevents you from losing your rankings.
Get in contact with SEO CoPilot today on 01246 556 565 for more information on the update and what it means for your business, or to get started on creating a mobile-friendly site that you (and Google) will love.
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