Google now prioritizes mobile versions of sites when crawling and indexing.
This means that Google will primarily use the mobile version of a webpage for ranking and indexing purposes, in order to better help mobile users find what they’re looking for.
This change reflects the fact that the majority of Google searches are now performed on mobile devices. In 2022, Google reported that over 60% of all searches worldwide were conducted on mobile devices.
Google began rolling out mobile-first indexing in 2018, and it was fully implemented in September 2020. This means that all new websites are now indexed using the mobile version of their content, and all existing websites are being transitioned to mobile-first indexing.
If you have a website, it is important to make sure that the mobile version of your site is up-to-date and provides a good user experience. You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check if your site is mobile-friendly, and you can use Google’s Mobile-First Indexing Best Practices guide to learn more about how to optimize your site for mobile-first indexing.
Here are some of the benefits of mobile-first indexing:
- Improved user experience: Mobile users will be able to find the information they’re looking for more easily and quickly if Google is indexing and ranking the mobile versions of websites.
- Better SEO performance: Websites that are optimized for mobile-first indexing will be more likely to rank well in Google search results.
- Increased traffic and conversions: Businesses that have mobile-friendly websites are more likely to attract and convert mobile users.
If you have any questions about mobile-first indexing, please visit the Google Search Central website.