As more users migrate from desktops and laptops to mobile devices, Google has updated their criteria to give those users the best surfing experience. Webmasters, in turn, have had to adapt to ensure that their sites meet Google’s standards to get the best position in the search results. The latest change in Google’s algorithm means that the search giant will be switching which version of your site they index. In a rolling update, Google will now be looking at mobile versions first.

What is mobile-first indexing?

In the past, the desktop version of a site was the only one there was. However, with the rise of mobile devices, with their smaller screens, mobile versions became more important. Because more users are coming to sites from mobile than desktop, Google will now look at the mobile version of your website first.

It’s important to remember that mobile-first does not mean mobile-only. Google will still also include desktop versions of pages when mobile-friendly ones are not available. However, since Google includes mobile-friendliness in their ranking criteria, the lack of a mobile site can negatively affect your ranking. However, on the flip side, sites with good mobile versions can see a boost in their position in the SERPs, making a mobile version very worthwhile.

What makes a site ready for mobile indexing?

Most webmasters have already made the changes and adjustments that get their sites up-to-date for mobile indexing. These include several qualities that make sites more mobile-friendly. Criteria for mobile-friendliness includes:

• Responsive design. Sites that use this sort of design automatically adjust their layouts depending on the device that is accessing them. By using this sort of design, you do not have to make multiple versions of a site to fit on different screen sizes.
• Quick-loading images. Make sure that all image file-sizes are small enough that they load quickly on mobile.
• Plenty of white space. Smaller screen sizes mean that large chunks of text are harder to read. By using short paragraphs, subheads and bullet points, you make your work easier to scan.

How do you know your site is being indexed mobile-first?

Sites will be moved to the new mobile-first indexing in waves. Google began transitioning the first group of sites to mobile-first indexing in December 2017. The sites included in the first wave were those that were already following their best practices for mobile-friendly design.

Now, a larger wave of sites has been moved.

Sites that have been moved to the new indexing will be notified via the Search Console. You’ll also see more visits from the Smartphone Googlebot in your traffic reports.

The way that you appear in search will change, as well, after you are moved to mobile-first. Once you have been shifted, Google will show your site’s mobile version in search results, as well as cached versions of pages.

What if your site is not mobile-friendly yet?

Google has said that webmasters who are not ready for the switch do not have to panic. In their announcement, Google says that sites that have desktop content only will continue to show up in the search engine’s index. This will give sites that have not updated to mobile-ready versions the time that they need.

Google continually adjusts their criteria for indexing to reflect the behavior of the users who come to them for search results. Webmasters should always be ready to study the latest best practices and adjust to give visitors who arrive from search the best possible experience. By keeping up with practices like mobile-friendly design, you can improve your position in the SERPs and make your site more user-friendly at the same time.