It has been a very long awaited move from Google. Finally, mobile-first indexing is officially up and running. Though it is very clear what it means from the term I thought we can dive into it deeper and walk you through some recommendations.
This initiative aimed to primarily use the mobile version of a website's content for ranking and indexing in Google's search results, as mobile usage had become more prevalent. Now, when Google officially declared mobile-first indexing as "complete" after almost 7 years, the mobile version of your website must be functional and provide a good user experience. In any scenario when websites have issues for mobile users will lead to these sites being excluded from mobile-first indexing.
Google's guidelines and recommendations for mobile-friendly websites:
Responsive design: use responsive web design to ensure your site adapts to different screen sizes and devices.
Mobile-friendly page layout: create a clean, easy-to-navigate layout with touch-friendly buttons and text that's legible without zooming.
Matching content on desktop and mobile: make sure that its primary(mobile version) content is equivalent to your desktop site, since almost all indexing on your site comes from the mobile site.
Optimized visual content: provide high quality images and videos using only supported formats, use descriptive alt texts, titles and captions.
Fast loading speed: minimize server response times to ensure quick page loading on mobile devices.
Relevant structured data: make sure that your mobile and desktop sites have the same structured data, use correct URLs, regularly check the Data Highlighter dashboard for extraction errors (if you use Data Highlighter).
The Wix Mobile Editor simplifies the process of creating a mobile version of your website. It allows you to make mobile-specific adjustments to your site's design and content without affecting the desktop version. This ensures that your website is mobile-friendly and provides a positive user experience on smaller screens.
And for even more advanced users there is Wix Studio - a new platform within Wix that offers a range of features and options that cater to experienced designers who seek a higher degree of customization and sophistication in their web projects. Wix Studio Editor allows us to create fully responsive sites that look great on every screen and device. Which aligns with Google's mobile-first approach.
Therefore, competent Wix and Wix Studio users like no other are well-prepared for Google's Mobile First Indexing rollout :)
It's a notable development in the history of web search and indexing. Website owners should continue to focus on mobile optimization and stay updated on Google's guidelines and best practices for mobile sites.
