Essential Tips for Adapting to Google's Mobile-First Indexing Policy
Bethany Freeman
Sep 12
This week we are going to talk about a significant change that’s been shaping the SEO Agency landscape for some time now—Google's Mobile-First Indexing policy. Whether you’ve been following this development closely or just starting to learn about it, now is a great time to ensure your clients' websites are ready for this mobile-first world.
What is Mobile-First Indexing?
Simply put, mobile-first indexing means that Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking. This isn't exactly new—Google announced this change way back in 2016. However, as of July 5, 2024, Google is now only using its mobile crawler (Googlebot Smartphone) to index all sites. If your website isn’t accessible or doesn’t render correctly on mobile devices, it won’t be indexed or ranked by Google at all. This means if your client's site isn't dressed for mobile success, it might as well be invisible. We're talking about ghost town levels of traffic. We all love Fall, but that’s the wrong kind of spooky, right?
For more on the final transition to mobile-only indexing, see Google's official announcement.
Why Should You Care?
The short and sweet answer is: Mobile accessibility is no longer optional—it’s essential.
Google’s shift to mobile-first indexing is all about providing the best experience for mobile users, who are increasingly dominating web traffic.
Think about it: If a client’s site isn’t optimized for mobile, it risks disappearing from search results. This could mean a huge drop in organic traffic and visibility, which directly impacts their bottom line—and yours.
How to Ensure Your Clients Are Ready
Here are some actionable tips to get your clients’ sites in top shape for mobile-first indexing:
- Create a Mobile-Friendly Site: Prioritize a mobile-friendly site using responsive design, dynamic serving, or separate URLs. Google recommends Responsive Web Design for ease of maintenance. Learn more about mobile-friendly best practices in Google’s guide.
- Optimize Page Load Speed for Mobile: Page speed is crucial, especially for mobile users on slower connections. Ensure your client's site loads quickly on all devices. Refer to Google's page speed optimization tips.
- Ensure Correct Metadata on Mobile and Desktop Versions: Make sure that important metadata, such as title tags and meta descriptions, are consistent and correctly implemented on both the mobile and desktop versions of your site. Learn more about metadata best practices on Google's SEO guide.
- Maintain Content Consistency: Ensure the mobile version has the same content as the desktop version. Missing content on mobile could lead to a drop in rankings. Visit Google's content consistency section for more details.
- Check Structured Data: Ensure structured data is consistent across both versions of the site. Correct URLs are crucial. Check Google's structured data guidelines.
- Optimize Visual Content: Make sure images and videos are optimized for mobile. Avoid changing URLs with each load, and use high-quality images. Find more optimization tips in Google’s visual content guidelines.
- Test and Monitor: Use Google Search Console to regularly check mobile usability and address any issues. Learn more on the Google Search Console help page.
- Avoid Lazy Loading for Key Content: Google won’t index content that’s lazy-loaded upon user interaction. Make sure important content is accessible without additional actions. Check Google’s lazy loading guidelines.
Utilizing Adaptify’s Website SEO Potential Reporting Tool
To help you stay on top of these changes, Adaptify has recently introduced our Website SEO Potential reporting tool. This tool gives your agency a real-time, detailed view of how your clients' websites are performing against key SEO metrics.
Here's how it works:
- Needs Improvement Markers: Our tool identifies areas of the site that need work and clearly marks them with "Needs Improvement." Whether it's issues with site speed, missing metadata, or broken links, we highlight exactly what needs attention.
- Detailed Insights: While we all strive for a perfect site, we know that’s not always feasible. However, aiming for high scores in areas like site speed and meta data is crucial. Our reporting tool provides further information in each search section to help you pinpoint what needs improvement. Plus, you can click the "Learn More" button to be taken directly to Google's support pages about the topic for in-depth guidance.
- White Label Client Reporting: We’re also thrilled to announce a new feature—your agency can now include this Website SEO Potential tool (referred to as technical SEO in the report) in your weekly white-label client reporting. This means your clients can see the status of their site each week, understand where improvements are needed, and appreciate the proactive steps you're taking to keep their sites optimized and competitive.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
To sum it up: Mobile-first indexing is here to stay, and it’s essential that your clients' sites are prepared. The shift to mobile-first indexing is about future-proofing your clients' businesses. For Google and therefore your clients, mobile traffic is the future. Optimizing sites for mobile is essential for maintaining visibility.
So, grab your smartphones, put on your optimization capes, and let's ride this mobile wave together.
Until next time, keep those sites mobile and those rankings mighty! Not already part of the mobile-first Adaptify revolution? Check us out at Adaptify.ai for more information and book a demo today!
