--- title: How to optimize mobile-first indexing description: "Mobile First SEO : grazie alla presenza massiccia di smartphone e tablet, Google utilizzerà solo la versione mobile dei contenuti per l" author: Super User url: https://www.stefanato.com/en/nwes/519-how-to-optimize-mobile-first-indexing-1 --- ![How to optimize mobile-first indexing](https://www.stefanato.com/images/joomlart/article/14539468928e429f2da74154ccea470c.jpg) # How to optimize mobile-first indexing Search engine optimization (SEO) is set to change significantly in the coming days. Google's mobile indexing update, scheduled for March 2021, will remove all "desktop-only" sites—and any images or resources unique to a desktop-only site—from Google's index. Thanks to the widespread use of smartphones and tablets, Google will only use the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking. But before we look at some best practices for mobile-first indexing, let's clear up any confusion about the update and its meaning. Mobile-first indexing is currently the default setting and has been for some time. Any website new to the internet or Google Search after July 1, 2019, primarily uses the mobile version of the website for indexing. The mobile-first and desktop indexes are the same. There's no new indexing process; the update means that Google **will use the mobile version of a website for indexing** and positioning rather than the desktop version. There's no "choice" on this; Google has decided this way. Google's goal is to move all sites to mobile-first indexing, and it's up to website owners to prepare and comply. So what are the best practices for mobile-first indexing? Now that we have a better understanding of mobile-first indexing and what it entails, let's discuss some best practices you can implement to ensure seamless browsing from March 2021. ### **1. Implement responsive web design** If you haven't already, it's time to join the 70% of mobile-friendly websites. So with the **responsive web design**A responsive website ensures that users always see an optimized version of the site, regardless of device or screen size. A responsive website is advantageous for its flexibility: responsive web design means that website owners do not have to create multiple versions of their websites to adapt to different devices. If you already have a responsive web design, mobile-first indexing shouldn't have a significant impact on your site's performance in search engine results pages (SERPs). However, if you're in the process of developing your website's responsive design, these web design tools can help. In fact, Google has stated that responsive websites that properly utilize dynamic serving don't need to make any changes. ### **2. Can Googlebot access your mobile website?** Googlebot is Google's web crawler software and must be able to access and display content. It's necessary to allow Googlebot to examine your site's resources and ensure that the mobile version doesn't have different URLs than the desktop site. It's also important to check for disallows that could block the URL. To ensure your site appears at the top of the search results, you must use identical meta robots tags on both mobile and desktop sites. Different meta robots tags may prevent Google from crawling and indexing your page when your website is enabled for mobile-first indexing. Finally, be sure to use "lazy loading," also known as "slow loading," for your primary content. Lazy loading is an optimization technique that defers the loading of content that is neither visible nor critical. Keep in mind that Googlebot will refuse to load content that requires any user interaction, such as typing or clicking. ### **3. Analyze structured data** If you have chosen to structure your data with markup, you need to make sure that it is present in both the mobile and desktop versions and that both are identical. You also need to ensure that URLs in mobile versions of your structured data are updated to mobile URLs. ### **4. Double-check your ad placements** Ads can impact your mobile page rankings if you're not careful about where they're placed. When viewing ads on mobile devices, you should refer to the Better Ads Standard and ensure they meet its criteria. ### **5. Pay attention to the visual content** Any image or video on the mobile version of your site has its own set of best practices. When it comes to images, you should provide the user with high-quality images in a supported format. Make sure to only include images with a sufficiently high resolution that won't appear too small when viewed on a smaller screen. For images and videos, be careful not to use URLs that change as a page loads. If URLs keep changing, Google won't be able to process and index the images properly. As for video content, it must be easily viewable on a mobile device and must be in a supported format with relevant tags. It's best not to place a video too far down the page, forcing users to scroll endlessly. The best practice for structured data also applies here: keep this data identical on mobile and desktop versions. ### **Conclusion** Things are changing rapidly, and currently, most people online prefer to access the internet on their mobile devices rather than on a computer. This is due to the ease and convenience mobile devices offer. Google's decision to move to mobile-first indexing is a quick way to address this need while also demonstrating how much we rely on mobile devices. [REQUEST MORE INFORMATIONOR CONTACT US FOR A QUOTE](https://www.stefanato.com/contatti) [News](https://www.stefanato.com/en/nwes)