Google Removes Mobile Usability Report in GSC & Other Tools

On December 4, 2023, Google announced a significant alteration concerning the Mobile Usability reports in Google Search Console, Mobile-Friendly Test, and Mobile-Friendly Test API. This announcement was made through Google's official account, X.

 

 

Although the announcement is relatively new, the decision to remove these features was conveyed in April 2023 through official documentation.

 

The Removal of Mobile Usability Reports in GSC

As mentioned earlier, the plan for this removal had been in place since April 2023, as outlined in Google's documentation. This move doesn't indicate the diminishing importance of Mobile Usability for Google. Instead, Google is consolidating these reports into a single platform, namely Lighthouse.

With this change, web developers and site owners can still monitor the Mobile usability of their sites, but through a more integrated tool.

Here's a quote from Google's documentation:

 

"Starting December 1, 2023, we will be discontinuing the 'Mobile Usability' report in Search Console, the Mobile-Friendly Test tool, and the Mobile-Friendly Test API. This does not mean that Mobile usability is not important in helping you succeed with Google Search. Mobile usability remains important for users, who now more often use mobile devices, so it remains part of our page experience guidance. However, in almost ten years since we first launched this report, many other reliable references for evaluating Mobile usability have emerged, including Chrome's Lighthouse."

 

While this change might surprise some, Google emphasizes that the focus on Mobile usability remains a priority. By centralizing these reports on one platform, it is expected to improve the efficiency and coherence of information for site owners.

New options in Lighthouse allow developers to easily check aspects of Mobile usability. They can examine various metrics like page load speed, content clarity, and mobile navigation. Additionally, more detailed information is accessible to aid site owners in making necessary improvements.

 

SEO Community Reactions

As usual, any change by Google sparks varied reactions within the SEO community. Here are some responses we found on platform X.

John Murch, an X user, mentioned that Google made many changes towards the end of 2023, including the removal of Mobile Usability reports. Besides John Murch, other X users also shared their thoughts on this change.

 

 

One user stated that for technical SEOs using the Mobile-Friendly Test to inspect rendered HTML, there is currently no alternative tool that can replace its function.

In summary, this article discusses the recent changes made by Google regarding the removal of Mobile Usability reports, Mobile-Friendly Tests, and Mobile-Friendly Test API.