Google’s mobile friendly search index: Why are the goalposts being moved and how do I stay in the game?

Google is introducing a new search index of mobile-friendly web pages that will eventually take over from its current, computer-biased index.

The index is the library of web pages that a search engine has found and catalogued, ready to be discovered by anyone typing in the right search words. If your web page isn’t on the index, it doesn’t exist as far as the engine is concerned.

Google’s new search index will only include web pages optimised for mobile phone searches, so if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, it won’t appear on any search engine results page (SERP).

But is this just one more “upgrade” to make life harder for everyone, or is it a vital evolutionary step for those businesses prepared to adapt and survive in the face of changing customer habits?

Why is Google going mobile-friendly?

Here are some interesting stats:

• The number of mobile users overtook laptops and desktops in 2015, at just over 1.6 billion (source: Morgan Stanley Research)
• 80% of mobile owners use their phones to search the internet (source: The Global Web Index)
• This year, Google is expecting more retail related queries by mobile phone (51%) than any other device (source: Google!)
• More and more searches online are being done from smartphones, especially at this time of the year, when we’re looking for Christmas present ideas.

But why should it affect you, as you conscientiously update your business website on an office laptop?

Because, as a business, you really should be focused on the needs and behaviour of your customers, whether you’re Google or an artisanal pop-up cupcake bakery.

And that’s exactly what Google is doing; they’ve spotted the trend and they want to respond better to their customers’ wishes. This isn’t about Big Business forcing us all to dance to their tune, it’s reflecting the fact that our customers are, right now, changing how they use the internet.

Why do we have to change?

Firstly, internet searches on a mobile phone are often voice searches; these tend to be in the form of longer questions, making use of everyday language, unlike typed queries on a computer, which are briefer and use more formal wording.

Also, mobile users have limited screen space and they want information fast, so they need to find the best website to suit their search and their device. They won’t thank Google, or you, for having to struggle with a computer-friendly website that’s too complex and messy for their small screen.

This isn’t so important if you’re searching on a desktop computer and it’s not going to inconvenience you to use a mobile-friendly website on your laptop; in fact, you probably won’t even notice the change.

It’s a bit like fitting ramps to public building entrances, it’s no problem for most of us but it makes a big difference if you need to use it – except, in the case of mobile-friendly searches, the majority of users do need it.

What do I need to do?

If you run a mobile-responsive version of your website which has different material or less content than the computer-friendly version, then Google will only include this in its search index and no-one will be able to find your primary content.

So you need to look at what proportion of your business comes through mobile searches and ensure that the content on your website is consistent on every version and suits the device it will be seen on.

Is this going to hurt?

During the roll-out period, Google is running two search indexes, one for desktop-first and one for mobile-first as a trial, and you probably won’t be able to tell which index you’re looking at.

I doubt Google wants to turn everything upside down; they’ll want to keep change to a minimum to avoid disruption and needless harm to businesses, especially smaller ones.

But ultimately, Google plans to run just the one, mobile-friendly, index which is a move being dictated by user trends. You need to make sure your website is prepared for it.

Google wants to be on the side of the mobiles users. Will you be joining them or will you be left out in the dark?