Google Completes the Transition to Mobile-First Indexing After 7 Years

Quoting from a Google blog post written by John Mueller, Google recently announced the completion of the mobile-first indexing transition after nearly 7 years of development. This transition began in 2016 when Google started prioritizing the indexing of website content based on user experience on mobile devices.

 

About Mobile-First Indexing

From the outset, this transition aimed to ensure that the content indexed by Google Search aligns with what users would see when accessing websites on their mobile devices. It was a significant step in Google's efforts to deliver more relevant search results in line with technological advancements.

The shift to mobile-first indexing has transformed the Google indexing landscape by prioritizing mobile sites. This means that Google pays more attention to mobile web pages than desktop versions, a major change in search infrastructure.

Websites that have focused on desktop versions must now ensure that their mobile web pages are of equal quality.

 

Next Steps from Google

Google also provides leniency for websites that are not fully accessible to mobile crawlers. Until next year, web pages that cannot be well-crawled using mobile devices will continue to be indexed using desktop crawlers.

However, Google will reassess these sites several times a year, demonstrating the search engine's commitment to moving towards full mobile-first indexing.

 

Changes in Google Search Console

In addition to announcing the completion of the transition, Google also provides additional information regarding these changes. They have disabled information about crawler indexing on the settings page in Search Console, stating that such information is no longer needed.

 

This is due to Google's primary focus on indexing using mobile crawlers, reflecting the evolving trend in mobile device usage.

The completion of the mobile-first indexing transition is a significant milestone in Google's efforts to ensure a better user experience and more relevant search results. Website owners and online business operators need to pay attention to these changes and ensure that their web pages meet mobile indexing requirements to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.