Not every site is equally convenient for viewing on mobile devices. Many optimizers do not think about the importance of switching to mobile. Although the share of mobile queries is growing, and according to Google, it exceeds 58% compared to the desktop. If you still don’t see the need to optimize your site for compact devices, Google does it for you.
What’s going on google
In 2015, Google launched the Mobile Friendly algorithm, which in the mobile index lowered sites that were not adapted to the screens of mobile phones.
Then Google launches AMP – Accelerated Mobile Pages – accelerated mobile pages – a format for displaying simplified pages of a site in search.
The next step, Google announces the merger of the desktop and mobile index and changing the priorities of scanning and displaying content. Here a little more. The Mobile First index ranks sites based on the content of the mobile version. This principle also applies to searches made from the desktop.
Prior to this update, two indexes peacefully coexisted on Google: mobile and desktop. And the issuance was formed taking into account the device from which the user makes a request.
With the advent of the Mobile First index, the Goolge index takes into account the contents of the mobile version of the site in priority when building responses even to desktop requests.
What follows from this?
If the mobile version of your site is far from ideal, then you have something to think about. Already, when the Mobile First index is gradually expanding to the full, you can notice traffic drawdowns. This is the first signal that we need to optimize the mobile version of the site.
World experts claim that it’s time for mobile SEO.
How to create a mobile version of the site that Google likes?
1. Responsive design
This is the best solution for the mobile version. The mobile and desktop versions of the site show the same content on the pages, there are no troubles with setting rel = canonical tags, duplicate content, and correctly determining the type of device as with dynamic typesetting. Moreover, Google itself recommends the use of responsive design.
2. Checking the mobile version in Search Console
This is a simplified version of identifying problems with the mobile version:
Search Traffic – Ease of View on Mobile
If there are no problems, Google will report it.
For a more detailed analysis, Google offers the usability test of the mobile version. This is a free tool that allows you to identify problems due to which the site may lose its position on Google.
3. Launch Googlebot
If the Google bot is not allowed to scan parts of the JavaScript or CSS code on the site, then the system will not be able to determine how mobile the site is especially in case of affiliate site. And so, this will affect the positions in the issuance. Check the settings in the robots.txt file.
4. Block pop-ups, ads and all interactive chips that overlap content
The main goal of Google is to provide the user with access to content. If pop-up messages block access to the content or complicate the user’s interaction with the page, this may adversely affect the ranking. Google even rolled out an update that lowers sites in the search results where content is blocked by pop-ups.
5. We optimize the loading speed of mobile pages
Without further ado, Google announced the download speed as a ranking factor , which will be taken into account from July 2018. And if the user does not catch the difference in download speed in fractions of a second, then even fractions of a second for the Google ranking algorithm will be decisive for lowering the site in the output. Since positions in the search are important to us, it’s better to use the native Google tool for the test .
The recommended page loading speed is about 1 second.
The test will immediately indicate the optimization areas (browser cache, images, etc.):
recommendations for optimizing the download speed of the Google mobile site
6. Text formatting
Even a cool page optimized for mobile format can get low positions in the issue if users are uncomfortable reading text in the mobile version.
Given the conditions of reading from a mobile (on the go, in poor / improper lighting, on a small screen), the recommendations are most obvious:
large font (at least 15-16px)
short paragraphs (1-2 sentences)
line length up to 60 characters
the text is clearly distinguishable on the background (lack of background image, the background color is highly contrasted with the text color)
Other design guidelines for mobile pages:
Use empty space – this increases the convenience of interacting with the page with your fingers (the tap area is larger than the mouse cursor)
Reduce the title images – mobile users are eager to get an answer here and now, and so, the main picture occupying the entire first screen is not the best solution.
Social buttons – copying and pasting links to pages from a mobile is much more complicated than in a browser. Want maximum publicity for your content? Simplify the action for the user.
Whether to use AMP pages is an open question. Among optimizers, there is an opinion that AMP pages get + karma when ranking, but there are some nuances to consider:
The AMP format severely limits the functionality of the page – the content is shown in a simplified way, interactive elements are excluded from the pages (no pop-up windows for subscriptions, likes, reposts, no offers to read another article on the topic or download the full version of the report). Also, the AMP format imposes a restriction on the placement of ad units on the page. In addition, AMP restricts CSS, which allows faster loading, but at the same time erases the “individuality” of the page, making it template and typical. And all the efforts to create brand design, highlighting the site among hundreds of competitors, are in vain.
There are no reliable studies proving improved ranking of AMP pages.
The ranking algorithms have become too complex, optimization of one factor will not give the desired increase in positions and traffic. Google is doing everything possible so that the optimizers finally depart from the purely technical markup of the site’s compliance with search standards, and begin to work on the quality of the site as a whole and the improvement of the user experience.
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