"My desktop website is my pride and joy! It's truly a thing of beauty! I do admit, on a mobile phone, it's slow as molasses and is clumsy to navigate but I don't really care because I'm sure people are preferring to look at it on their big monitors anyway."
If this sounds like you, better read on....
Google's Mobile-First Indexing policy is now well underway. So what does this mean? Through extensive statistics gathering, Google recognizes that more websites are now being viewed on mobile devices than on desktop units. They have now changed their indexing policy to regard the mobile version of a website as the primary source for indexing your website's content.
Google also knows that performance and load time is a key factor for a website's success and usability on a mobile device and is starting to reward fast loading mobile websites with a better ranking.
What does all this mean for your business website?
It means that having a mobile friendly website is no longer just a "nice-to-have" feature for your site visitors that may want to view your website on their phone. Your mobile site will now (if it hasn't already) become the primary source for Google to index your content and measure your website's performance and usability.
"But I only have a desktop site, so I should be okay right?" Well, yes and no. Your content is all there but, from a performance and usability standpoint, your desktop site being viewed on a mobile device will, for a lack of a better word, suck.... and your ranking will suffer because of that.
If you're planning on getting a new website, make sure you talk to your developer about your expectations for the mobile version. Here are some questions you should ask:
1) Will my new website be mobile friendly?
2) Will all the content that Google indexes be present on my mobile site and not just my desktop site?
3) Will my mobile site be fast loading and easy for my site visitor's to view and navigate?
4) If I make a change in my Content Management System, will it automatically be reflected in my mobile site as well?
5) Will my mobile site have exactly the same URL as my desktop version?
Tell your web developer that you will be checking your mobile site's performance on Google's free online Test Your Mobile Speed tool to verify your mobile site receives a "Good" or "Excellent" rating for performance.
And, if you're developer dismisses your mobile concerns as trivial or non-important, it's probably time to find a new website developer.
Having a mobile website is no longer just a "nice-to-have" convenience for your mobile visitors. It is now a critical component of your SEO strategy and can no longer be regarded as the little brother living in the shadow of your desktop website.
