Mobile-first indexing means Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a page's content for indexing and ranking, crawling with its smartphone user agent. The rollout began in 2016 and Google has since said it is complete, with almost all sites crawled by Googlebot Smartphone. Anything shown only on desktop, such as text, links, structured data or images, may be invisible to Google.
What it requires
The mobile version should carry the same primary content, metadata and links as desktop. With a responsive design that serves the same HTML to all devices, this is mostly automatic. Sites that serve different HTML to mobile, or use a separate m. domain, need checks to keep the versions equivalent.
- Same main content and headings on mobile
- Same title, meta description and robots directives
- Same structured data and hreflang
- Same internal links, including in collapsed mobile menus
- Images and video crawlable with alt text on mobile
Checking your site
Google retired its standalone Mobile-Friendly Test in 2023. Use URL Inspection in Search Console, which crawls with the smartphone user agent and shows the rendered HTML and screenshot. Compare the mobile HTML with desktop for key templates.
Example
A comparison table hidden on mobile
Ploughstack's feature comparison page shows a detailed table on desktop and, to save space, removes it from the mobile template entirely. Because Google indexes the mobile version, the table's content does not count. The team keeps the table in the mobile HTML, styled to scroll horizontally, so both versions carry it.
Common mistakes
Trimming content for mobile
Content removed from the mobile HTML is removed from what Google indexes. Restyle, do not delete.
Different robots directives per device
A noindex on the mobile template applies to the indexed version, even if desktop is fine.
Questions
No. There is one index, built mainly from mobile versions of pages.
