What is Mobile-First Indexing?
Mobile-first indexing is an approach used by Google to index and rank websites. Initially, Google indexed and ranked websites based on the desktop version of a website. However, since the rise in the use of smartphones for web browsing, Google has made a transition to mobile-first indexing, which means that the mobile version of your website is now considered the primary version for ranking and indexing.
Why is it important to optimise your site for mobile devices?
As the mobile version of your site is now used for indexing and ranking, it's essential to optimise your website for mobile. A mobile-optimised website offers a better user experience, which can lead to increased time spent on your site and better conversion. What's more, a mobile-optimised website can help you rank higher in Google search results.
How can you optimise your site for mobile-first indexing?
There are many ways to optimise your site for mobile-first indexing. Firstly, you need to ensure that your site is responsive, which means that the design of your website automatically adapts to the size of the user's screen. Secondly, you need to ensure that the content of your site is identical on the mobile and desktop versions. Finally, it's important to ensure that your site loads quickly, as mobile users are often impatient and are likely to leave your site if pages are slow to load.
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Mobile-oriented development and the 'Mobile-First Indexing' concept
Mobile-focused development has become increasingly important in recent years. In 2018, Google officially adopted mobile-centric indexing, better known as Mobile-First Indexing. In simple terms, Google now ranks websites based on the quality of their mobile interface rather than their desktop version. This change has been driven by the ever-changing statistics that show that more and more people are now accessing the internet via mobile devices rather than computers. It
It's clear that failure to comply with mobile-first indexing standards can harm your site's visibility on Google and, as a result, reduce its traffic.
Understanding the importance of mobile-first indexing
When it comes to mobile-first indexing, it's essential to understand just how vital it is for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). For example, eBay, one of the largest e-commerce platforms, saw a significant increase in its revenues after improving the mobile interface on its site. Faced with stiff competition from other e-commerce platforms, optimising the site for mobile phones has become a necessity for eBay. What's more, as the number of mobile users grew, eBay realised that more was happening on mobile devices than on computers. In light of this data, the importance of mobile-friendly indexing becomes clear.
How do you optimise your site for mobile phones?
Optimising your site for mobile-first indexing requires special attention to a number of aspects.
Responsive Design
First of all, your site must be designed to be responsive. This means that it must automatically adapt to the screen size of the device on which it is displayed. A good example of responsive design is the NASA site. Whether you're viewing the site on a PC, tablet or smartphone, the information is always presented in an orderly, easy-to-understand way.
Fast loading times
Another crucial aspect of optimising for mobile-first indexing is the fast loading time of your site. Mobile users are generally in a hurry and are therefore less inclined to wait for a site to load. Amazon has estimated that a one-second delay in loading its site could cost businesses up to $1.6 billion.
s in sales each year.
Content optimised for mobile
Finally, the content of your site must be optimised for mobile devices. Text should be easy to read without zooming in, links should be spaced far enough apart to be easily clickable and important content should not be hidden behind tabs or drop-down menus. Airbnb is a shining example of a site that has followed these guidelines to optimise its content for mobile.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is essential to optimise your site for mobile-first indexing in order to remain competitive in today's digital landscape. Rather than seeing mobile optimisation as an additional task, think of it as an opportunity to improve the overall user experience of your site and improve your ranking in Google's search results.
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1. Use of the "viewport" tag: Make sure your site is designed using a responsive viewport tag. This allows mobile browsers to better understand and adjust content to the device screen.
2. Reduce loading time : Slow pages can seriously affect your ranking in the mobile-first index. Optimise images, use browser caching or reduce the number of redirects to speed up your site's loading time.
3. Responsive design: Having a responsive website design means that your site adapts and displays correctly on all types of device, which is essential for mobile-first indexing.
4. Use readable text: Make sure your text is easy to read without zooming or scrolling horizontally, to provide a good user experience on mobile devices.
5. Clickable buttons: The buttons on your site should be large enough and well spaced out so that mobile users can click them easily with their fingertips.
6. Optimising title tags and meta descriptions: Make sure that your title tags and meta descriptions are optimised for mobile search. Keep them short and punchy so that they display correctly on small screens.
7. Use Google Search Console: Activate the mobile version of Google Search Console to monitor your site's performance on mobile devices and resolve any indexing problems.
8. No Flash content: Many mobile devices do not support Flash. So it's a good idea to avoid using this format on your site.
9. Integration of social interaction elements: Share buttons on social networks are crucial, as they encourage mobile users to share your content, thereby increasing your visibility.
10. Text must be visible without zooming: Check that all text on your site is easily visible and readable on a mobile device without the need to zoom in.
11. Use Google's mobile testing tools: This will help you identify any problems and resolve them.
12. Content blocks with horizontal scrolling: Avoid using content blocks with horizontal scrolling, as they can be difficult to navigate on small screens.
To find out more
1 "Google's mobile-first indexing: everything you need to know" - BDM (Blog du Modérateur): https://www.blogdumoderateur.com/mobile-first-index-google/
2. "Mobile First Index: how to optimise your site for mobile devices". - Semji: https://www.semji.com/fr/blog/mobile-first-index/
3. "Google Mobile-First Indexing: what you need to know" - WebRankInfo: https://www.webrankinfo.com/dossiers/google-mobile/mobile-first-indexing
4. "How to optimise your website for Google's Mobile First Index" - Isarta: https://www.isarta.com/infos/seo/comment-optimiser-votre-site-web-pour-le-mobile-first-index-de-google/
5. "The Mobile First index: what does it change, how do you optimise your site? - Dix-Katre: https://www.dix-katre.com/2018/02/15/lindex-mobile-first-de-google-ce-que-ca-change-et-comment-optimiser-son-site/
6. "Mobile first index: prepare your site! - 1st position: https://www.1ere-position.fr/blog/index-mobile-first-google-preparez-site/
7. "Google: mobile first indexing for all new sites" - Journal du Net: https://www.journaldunet.com/solutions/seo-referencement/1419523-google-le-mobile-first-indexing-pour-tous-les-sites-neufs/
8. "Mobile First Indexing - What is it and how can you optimise your website?" - Digimood: https://www.digimood.com/actualites-seo/mobile-first-indexing-comprendre-et-optimiser/
