It seems like almost everybody of any age has a mobile device in their hands these days with their eyes glued to the screen.  With that in mind, you should focus on mobile-first indexing when creating your website and content.

So what exactly does this mean? Mobile-First Indexing means the mobile version of your site will be considered the primary version when Google and similar search engines prioritize ranking and indexing of content.

Previously search engines would use the desktop version to do this, but since most users tend to do their searches using mobile devices, this has quickly become the standard.

Google now defaults to the mobile version of new websites since September 2020.  The mobile version of your content now has precedence over the previous system that used desktop and URLs for indexing and ranking.

If you do have both a desktop and mobile website, here a few tips to make sure you rank well:

• Make sure both desktop and mobile versions contain the same optimized content.

• Make sure photos, videos, and other dynamic media are optimized for mobile.

• Use clear and meaningful headlines. Make sure the metadata is exactly the same on both mobile and desktop.

The content on your website still can compete and be ranked even if you don’t have a mobile version.  Google will only use the desktop version when there is no mobile version available.

However, there are drawbacks.  If your site isn’t mobile-friendly your rankings will decrease.

If your site is optimized for mobile, it will rank well for both mobile and desktop.  But the opposite is not true.  If your site isn’t optimized for mobile and does poorly, your ranking will decrease for both.

So how do you avoid this?

Most current website building tools tend to produce sites that are desktop, mobile, and tablet friendly.

Keep in mind that user experience is key when developing a new website and content.

Here are a few steps to take when considering Mobile-First Indexing:

Take a Test – While you don’t have to have a mobile site to be in the mobile-first index, it will be harder to rank high if your site isn’t mobile-friendly. Google offers a tool to test if your website is optimized for mobile.

Improve UX on mobile – A mobile device is much smaller so your website needs a different design that is both appealing and streamlined for your target audience.

Write Mobile-Friendly Content – Make sure you have a mobile-friendly copy.  Meaning your site should have shorter sentences, paragraphs, and a font that makes it easier to read on a smaller screen.

Follow these tips and make sure your site appears on those tiny screens of mobile device users.  They may not look up from their phones, but they’ll definitely get a look at what your business has to offer.