Why Having a Mobile-First Website is Critical for SEO
Mobile-first design is no longer an option in today's evolving digital landscape. With mobile traffic increasing, search engines have shifted to mobile-first indexing. This means that they use the mobile version of your website to index and rank your site. If you haven't optimised your website for mobile, you are being left behind, losing valuable website traffic.
The number of mobile devices worldwide were close to fifteen billion in 2021 and expected to surpass eighteen billion by 2025. Research shows that the smart phone market saw a ten percent increase in Q1, 2024, with close to three hundred million units sold. This growth is simply staggering and now more than half of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. As a result, users expect websites to be fast loading, simple to navigate, offering a pleasant experience across any device. If your site isn't optimised, you could be losing out on potential customers.
Google saw this shift in user behaviour and introduced mobile-first indexing. This means the Google algorithms use mobile versions of a website to determine how it should be ranked in search results. It's important to note that not only Google has implemented these changes, other search engines including Bing are also rewarding websites that are mobile friendly. If you want your SEO strategy to succeed, you need a mobile-first website.
Mobile-first indexing means Google uses the mobile version of your website as the main source of information for indexing and ranking. This prioritises websites that provide a mobile-friendly experience, which has a direct impact on your ranking. Even if a large percentage of your website visitors use desktop computers, your ranking is still determined by your mobile website performance.
When it comes to your mobile-friendly website, there are some key metrics you need to regularly monitor:
User experience (UX) is an important part of any successful SEO strategy and it's imperative your mobile-first website design improves user experience. This includes faster loading times, easy navigation, along with clear and concise content.
There are some essential components that directly impact your SEO performance when it comes to mobile-first design. The Genie Crawl team have put together some steps to help you implement them effectively:
We live in a mobile-driven world and mobile-first website design is imperative to achieve online success, as search engines prioritise user experience, fast loading pages, and easy navigation on any device. When you adopt a mobile-first approach, you can improve your ranking in search results, providing an enhanced user experience, improving your long-term growth. If your website isn't mobile-friendly, get in touch with Genie Crawl today.
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