The Future of Google Searches – Mobile-First Indexing

August 15, 2017

Does a mobile website’s quality affect your desktop ranking?

By Maureen McCabe

Google often sends out signals about its studies into the marketplace. The hints around mobile (responsive) sites and mobile searches began in February 2015, which was nicknamed “mobilegeddon.”

The rumour soon became a fact on April 21, 2015, as Google favours websites or simply does not rank sites that are not mobile-friendly for search queries done on mobile devices.

The percentage of time people are using desktop computers or laptops is quickly being overtaken by the usefulness and convenience of mobile devices. Over 80% of internet users have a smartphone, which is used to:

• Lookup email addresses
• Google maps for GPS and to find your business
• Connect to social media feeds
• Access popular apps such as Facebook, eBay, Amazon, dating sites
• Visual communication such as Skype or FaceTime

This makes sense if you think about it. Google’s clients are the users of their search engine. They strive to provide their users with the best experience possible. If people search on their phone or tablet and they have to scroll or pinch to navigate through the site, they are likely to leave the site by pressing the back button and trying another ad on the results page. However, when the site adjusts to the screen they are using, the experience is easy and helpful.

Desktop versus Mobile Ranking

Now Google is hinting at how websites should be ranked, based on the mobile version rather than the desktop version. Yikes!

To some this defies logic. Google is always several steps ahead of us and always thinking of the future…

This explains the logic for Google hinting at changing how they determine which website gets ranked ahead of others for queries entered into their search engine. Currently ranking is determined by many factors. There are over 200 components in the Google Algorithm to determine the ranking, but these are all based on a website’s “desktop” version’s quality and compatibility with the algorithm.

Fact or fiction. You be the judge. There is no question in our opinion. Learn more by reading the official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index, posted on their website on November 4, 2016.

Will this mean the death of desktop for your organic ranking and the end of desktop search engine optimization? Only time will tell.

In April 2017, Gary Illyes from Google said that the mobile-first index launch was unlikely in 2017, but many are expecting its arrival in early 2018.

The concern for companies and business owners will be whether or not their mobile version will meet the Google algorithm requirements.

Google does not let anyone know precisely what their “secret sauce” is for determining the ranking, but we can assume that original content, easy navigation, attention to keywords and user interaction with the site will still be key factors. How to determine the balance of enough content and high user engagement will be a challenge.

Take a look at your website on your phone and tablet. Does it give you enough information to allow you to decide to call, email or connect with your company? If you would like a new set of eyes to help you answer these questions, contact McCabe Marketing, who has been helping businesses like yours for over ten years.

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