Google's Gary Illyes spoke at Search Engine Land's SMX Advanced about the major changes coming when Google rolls out their mobile-first search index update in 2018.
"It’s going to be a big change, but don’t freak out."
- Gary Illyes, Google
What does the mobile-first index mean for your site and search results?
This means that Google will look to rank mobile ready sites ahead of desktop only sites but the desktop sites will still continue to rank and be indexed.
“Mobile-first means mobile first. It only means that we’ll look for mobile content first.”
- Gary Illyes, Google
So if there are two sites that have similar content and are competing for similar search ranking, the mobile ready and mobile friendly site will come first.
How can I improve my site rank for the mobile-first index?
Update your site to use a responsive design.
“If you have a responsive site, then you’re pretty much good to go...Why? Because the content on your desktop site will be pretty much the same on your responsive site. The structured data on your desktop site will be the same. There is going to be slight differences in how you present the data, but we’re trying to be prepared.”
- Gary Illyes, Google
VDW specializes in responsive design and mobile friendly web applications.
Learn how we can help you get started making your site responsive. Be ready for Google's mobile-first index!