These days, Google is constantly making changes to its search algorithm, affecting how it works for both businesses and consumers. Some of the more recent changes, such as the AI Overview pulling misinformation, have been discussed in marketing circles, while others are ignored or disregarded, such as Google’s changes to mobile site indexing. But what do these changes entail, and what does it mean for your site and its optimization?
Google makes many of these updates with the intent to be more helpful to the users, helping them find the most relevant factual information related to their search. As information is indexed and compiled, Google is validating the content and rewarding sites with a higher rank on the search result page and/or pulling the information into their AI Overview to present on the page.
How can I know if Google likes the content on my site?
The short answer is, you don’t.
The long answer is, having information that is relevant to the search query, factual, and compelling will oftentimes be rewarded in a high search result. You may be familiar with the phrase ‘less is more’, but in the case of quality content in the eyes of Google, more is better.
But that’s the easier part. After all, who doesn’t love talking about their own business?
The changes to their mobile site indexing ability can be a little more tricky. Website indexing is how search engines such as Google or Bing categorize and read your content, so it can be ranked and delivered as a result to search queries.
For a number of years now, Google has been developing a mobile-first indexing initiative. This initiative means that Google will crawl your site from the eyes of a mobile browser and use that mobile version for indexing and ranking your website instead of the desktop version. As the vast majority of website searches and views occur on a mobile device (phone or tablet), the logic for this initiative is clear.
So after eight years, the project is finally wrapping up, and as of July 5th, 2024, if your site is not responsive and fully accessible via a mobile device, Google will not index and rank it in search results.
But don’t panic… a majority of sites will be fine, especially newer sites. Google does not explicitly release their exact parameters that define what a mobile site is, however the new indexing guidelines won’t affect sites that are not aesthetically pleasing as long as they load on a mobile device in general. However, if you are not sure about your site, contact our team today to run a digital audit.
Conclusion
We know this sounds like a lot of marketing gibberish, and we get it – websites and SEO can be confusing. That’s where we come in. Whether you need help ranking higher on Google, or are looking for a new and improved website to properly brand and position your website, ensure cross-device compatibility, or simply keep up with your competitors, our team knows all the ins-and-outs of the ever-changing world of search engines. Contact us today with any questions or to get started on your project!
