A How question

How does an SEO company optimize for mobile-first indexing?

3 min read Cites 2 sources

It makes sure the mobile version of your site carries everything Google needs, because that is the version Google uses. Google’s mobile-first indexing best practices state that “Google uses the mobile version of a site’s content, crawled with the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking.” This is no longer a transition in progress: in Google’s announcement that the move to mobile-first indexing had finished, dated October 31, 2023, it said “the trek to Mobile First Indexing is now complete.” The work comes down to a set of checks that the mobile version is complete, readable to Google, and usable on a phone.

The same content on mobile

Google’s guidance is direct: “Make sure that your mobile site contains the same content as your desktop site.” The company compares important pages on both versions: body text, headings, images and their alt text, and internal links. Layout can differ to suit a small screen, but anything removed from the mobile version to save space is content Google may not see.

Content that needs a tap to appear

Google also warns that it “won’t load content that requires user interactions (for example, swiping, clicking, or typing) to load.” Text that only loads when a visitor taps or swipes can be invisible to Google. The company checks how such content is built, not just whether it looks right on screen.

The same structured data and the same directives

Two technical details are easy to miss on sites with separate mobile pages or templates. Google advises: “Make sure that your mobile and desktop sites have the same structured data.” And it warns: “Use the same robots meta tags on the mobile and desktop site.” A noindex tag left on the mobile version can keep pages out of Google even though the desktop pages look fine.

The company also checks that Google can load the files the mobile page depends on, such as stylesheets, scripts, and images, so the page can be rendered as a visitor sees it.

A site that works on a phone

Beyond what Google reads, the mobile version has to work for people. The company checks that layouts fit the screen without sideways scrolling, text is readable without zooming, buttons and links are large enough and far enough apart to tap accurately, and pop-ups do not cover the content visitors came for. Speed on mobile is part of the same picture and is measured with the same Core Web Vitals as any other speed work.

Checking both versions of your key pages

Ask the company how it will compare the mobile and desktop versions of your key pages, how it checks content that loads on interaction, and whether it has confirmed that structured data and robots directives match on both. On a responsive site, where one page serves every device, the content and directive checks are simpler; on a site with separate mobile pages or templates, they are the first things to check.

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