Mobile First Indexing

The Mobile-First Index is fundamental and is the process that allows a website to index itself, simulating mobile navigation.

In recent years, Google has concentrated most of its actions to arrive at a well-defined and concrete process. This would be optimal for indexing content searched by mobile and prioritizing websites.

It is a feature enabled on all sites starting July 1, 2019, and is one of the most important tools to consider in order to achieve well-deserved success.

Let's find out more about how the Mobile-First Index works.

How Mobile First Indexing works

There are many tools available for configuring a website for mobile, but responsive design is the most correct choice suggested by the American giant Google .

On the other hand, it is not recommended to use separate URLs (with subdomain), creating discrepancies between versions and multiplying the effort in the optimization phase.

Are there any sites that are excluded from this type of indexing ? Actually, yes and if they do not comply, with a responsive design, they could soon lose their position on the search engine .

A user, especially in a technological age like this, does not waste time looking and reading the contents of a site that is not optimized for smartphones .

Obviously, even if the company website is optimized for mobile, every aspect must be taken care of and checked in order not to lose positions on Google.

Does Google scan the company website correctly?

Despite the belief that they have carried out all the steps correctly and that they have a responsive website, companies must carry out ad hoc checks. First of all it is correct to check the URLs that are not of two versions or of different hosts.

The robots.txt doesn't have to block the crawl of all key resources, allowing GoogleBot to do its job and access the JavaScript files that are used the most.

Lazy-loading of core content, how to manage it

Lazy-loading refers to the slow loading of content or the whole site . Google is very strict in this regard, making clear some rules to follow and to make sure that GoogleBot can read the content by reproducing it for the user.

To follow a correct process, developers could try native lazy-loading for frames and images. From here you can get the answer you want, with the differences between desktop and mobile uploads.

When the mobile version has less content to offer than the desktop version, there may be problems with the display with incomplete images. What will happen at this point? Users don't want to waste time and the company will lose its traffic.

The contents of the mobile version will have to be constantly monitored and updated, just like for the desktop version. Google will be happy to index the site and users to notice a consistency on the part of the company on the content offered.

Images and videos, expert advice

Not just text, even images and videos will need to be optimized for the mobile version. This means not using small, low resolution and grainy images. Experts also recommend using the same images for desktop and mobile: the password is always consistency, in any case.

What happens if you use different images ? You may experience the interruption of the positioning of the images on search engines .

If this is not possible, for various internal reasons, it is advisable to complete the ALT Tag also for the mobile version with an active meaning such as that of the desktop.

It's also a good idea to use video structured data markup, including all sorts of information about both versions. Videos and images must have the same care as the texts, making sure that the mobile version is not slow and does not lose the ranking earned .

Website optimization on mobile, the mistakes not to make

As mentioned, there are a lot of critical aspects that need to be taken into consideration when it comes to mobile optimization . But there are also some mistakes not to be made when designing the site (in the first step), namely:

• Use content that cannot be played, such as those that require the use of the most popular and unsupported players on some of the mobile devices. Although technology is constantly evolving, it is better not to take risks;
• Avoid using so many pop-ups that could disturb the user and do not close easily;
• Avoid ADs who can compromise navigation, slow down the site and make users nervous.

In fact, there are ads that can become invasive and disabling by covering the main content. Better to opt for something simple, consistent and that can enrich the user's navigation.

• It is also advisable to use structured data, considering that the display space of the screen is limited;
• Slow loading is disabling and forces a user to go to the competitor's site.  Google PageSpeed ​​Insights is a tool that is made available to identify which pages may present critical issues and what are the solutions to be adopted;
• Do not use small fonts, setting them in order that they can be read by all users without any problem.

In summary, how can you make your site responsive for Mobile ?

• Paying attention to the scanning of the resources present that are suitable for Google;
• By checking the robots.txt file which will not have to block the reading of all available resources within the site;
• Verifying that texts, images and videos do not have a very long loading;
• Using structured data on desktop and mobile version in order to maintain consistency;
• Using very high quality images and filling in the ALT tag;
• Paying attention to the use of URLs;
• Avoiding invasive (and annoying for the user) pop-ups and ADs;
• Working on content and loading performance.

An advice? All these actions must be repeated over time and, in any case, every time Google changes its algorithms and guidelines.