“Mobile-first index launches on Tuesday, March 27, 2018”
On March 27, 2018, Google announced the start of the transition to “mobile-first indexing.”
To summarize briefly, we have started to transition from the search display that was previously based on desktop PCs to the search display that is based on mobile devices such as smartphones.
A more easy-to-understand explanation of what Google has announced regarding “Mobile-First Indexing.” We will also consider some points to be careful about regarding this announcement.
Basics of SEO measures
First of all, as the basics of SEO measures (measures to be taken for Google’s search engine),
“Build a site that is easily crawled and indexed by search engines”
I touched on this in a past column.
*What is crawl
?
A crawler (robot), which is a system within a search engine, visits each site one by one and collects information about the site.
*
What is an index
?
Storing web page data collected by crawlers in search engine databases
In other words, SEO measures make it easier for search engines to collect site information and store it in their databases, and this mobile-first index has changed the way it is stored in the database.
Previously, the search display assumed that the user was searching from a desktop PC, and even when searching from a mobile user such as a smartphone, the same search results as on a desktop PC were displayed.
As a result, mobile users could experience issues if the desktop version of the site differed significantly from the mobile version.
Therefore, Google is aiming to further improve convenience for mobile users by starting a transition to using the mobile version of pages for indexing.
Mobile-first index migration notification
Search Console will let you know if your site has been migrated to mobile-first indexing.
It also states that mobile-first indexing is set for sites like ours that use responsive design or dynamic serving.
Impact on desktop version of site and mobile friendliness
The mobile-first index emphasizes that it is not a new index separate from the previous index, but a transition from using the desktop version of the page to the mobile version of the page, but even if it is a site that only has the desktop version. It states that it will continue to be indexed.
However, be aware that apart from mobile-first indexing, Google also has mobile-friendly content recommendations.
Mobile friendliness affects search results and is an algorithm that determines whether a page is suitable for viewing on a smartphone.
This algorithm was implemented in April 2015. With this mobile-first index, we can say that we have further improved convenience for mobile users.
Faster site display Relationship with AMP
AMP is an abbreviation for Accelerated Mobile Pages, and refers to a project or framework for displaying websites at high speed on mobile devices, jointly developed by Google and Twitter.
Since the framework is published as open source, anyone can implement it and create a mobile site according to its specifications to speed up site display.
Although there is no direct relationship between mobile-first indexing for AMP sites and non-AMP sites, it has been announced that display speed will have a negative impact on both desktop and mobile search results, and although it is not urgent, AMP It is also possible that separate measures will be required.
summary
◆Mobile-first indexing refers to the transition of pages used for indexing from the desktop version to the mobile version.
◆Although desktop-only sites are indexed, please note that mobile-friendly content is recommended in addition to mobile-first indexing.
◆It has been announced that display speed has a negative impact on search results, and although it is not urgent, separate measures are required for AMP.