Google Splits Index into Two for the First Time: Mobile and Desktop

Google is now making changes to its search index by splitting its search results into different forms for their mobile and desktop iterations; these changes are expected to come into fruition in the following months. What this means is that search index is going to be prioritizing its mobile version by having it constantly updated while the desktop version will be considered a secondary index, therefore less up-to-date.

Google is going the natural path of progression because gone are the days when people primarily used their computers to browse the internet. Nowadays, people are often seen on their phones to access their social media profiles or to make a quick Google search.

The search engine giant has long advocated for the advancement of SEO by encouraging websites to become more mobile-friendly and now, they have taken another concrete step into making the internet a mobile-first domain. It’s fair to assume by splitting the search index, Google is slowly adapting to the fact that majority of searches now happen on mobile as compared to desktop searches.

Separating the search index is a great thing because this allows Google’s crawlers to index mobile responsive pages more accurately which then allows the bot to index such pages appropriately. What this means is that Google will now be able to prioritize mobile-optimized content for people using the internet on their mobile device.  The best part about it is that with the more organized indexing, Google is now free to deliver content faster and more accurately than ever before.

Nudging SEO to Mobile First

Google is sending a strong message with this move which essentially says that mobile is the future and desktops are the past; Google is now giving more weight to mobile searching which means that SEO specialists should do the same.

Google wants you to have your pages mobile optimized which means that it should be fast and it should be responsive. Having your pages accede to these requirements will not only please Google and give you a higher ranking with them, it also pleases your readers or customers because having a faster page means you lose less people who load your page for the very first time.

Achieving a mobile-optimized page is simple because all you have to do is publish your content via AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages tech. Also if you’re into publishing news or content about your field then one good way of getting indexed faster is by getting your brand registered in Google News.  This is important because aside from getting your content indexed faster, it also allows you to stand out by being more visible in people’s search results.

Google is expected to implement these changes in the following months but you don’t have to wait for that period of time. I recommend making your pages mobile-optimized as soon as possible because it’s great for your SEO and it’s even better to be prepared for the future.