Google is making some major changes to its mobile search results
First announced earlier this year, Google has begun making some major changes to how it displays search results on mobile devices, including the iPhone and iPad.
With the changes, Google will boost the ranking of mobile-friendly sites compared to other non-optimized sites.
Search results will remain the same on desktops. The changes affect search results in all languages globally and applies to individual pages, not entire sites.
Even so, in a blog post, Google said it uses a number of factors to determine search rankings:
While the mobile-friendly change is important, we still use a variety of signals to rank search results. The intent of the search query is still a very strong signal — so even if a page with high quality content is not mobile-friendly, it could still rank high if it has great content for the query.
If you’re interested in seeing if specific pages are mobile-friendly, Google has unveiled a quick and simple test available here.
Once a site becomes mobile-friendly, Google will once again crawl and index the pages and readjust the rankings. You can also speed up the process by specifically requesting Google to take another look at a URL.
Webmasters can also find more information in a Google FAQ.
I’m glad to see Google make this change to mobile search rankings. As more and more people use their iPhone or iPad to search, it’s important for those pages to be easily viewable.
For other news today, see: More than 1,500 apps suffer from a major security vulnerability, Clear’s Apple Watch app lets you manage your to-do list with simplicity, and Save time finding your possessions with Tile’s Apple Watch app.
