Google is changing the way it searches.

byockersegdb57

261 followers

8 years ago

Google is in the process of changing the way its search engine performs searches. This change, I think, will have huge ramifications on the way our websites will be ranked unless we allow for the changes in our site structure (Newbie talk!).

Google is going to prioritise mobile content in its search results.

First, a refresher on how Google Search works: Google's bots crawl the web tracking more than 60 trillion web pages and the links within them. Google then categorises them into a large index based on hundreds of different factors. This index, along with a series of algorithms, is what enables Google to return relevant search results — that list of blue links — when you enter a query into the search box.

This new update means that Google will determine the rankings of pages based on their mobile content.

Google product manager Doantam Phan has indicated that the Google algorithms search index of websites and apps will eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages from that site.

There are many implications to this change. The most obvious one is that sites that don't have functional mobile versions will likely lose out, and show further down in search results.

The WA community will need to take this into account when building new sites and making sure their existing sites are mobile friendly. You can check whether your site is mobile friendly: here.