Why your phone site matters more to Google than your desktop site
Google ranks your business based on what your site looks like on a phone, not a computer. Here's what to check this week.
Google uses the mobile version of your website to decide how to rank you in search results. Not the desktop version. This shift means that when Google crawls your site, it looks at what someone on a smartphone sees. If your mobile site lacks information that appears on desktop, Google may not know that information exists.
Key facts
- Google crawls and ranks your site using the smartphone version of your pages, not the desktop version.
- Your mobile and desktop versions should have the same title, description, and main content to rank for the same keywords.
- Common mobile errors that can hurt your ranking include missing page titles, blocked images, alt text missing from images, and ads taking up too much screen space.
- If your mobile site has a separate URL (like m.example.com), you must set up special linking between the two versions so Google understands they are the same page.
- Your mobile site must load the same resources and images that your desktop site uses, or Google may not index your pages at all.
Tip 1: Check that your mobile site has a title and description on every page
Open your website on your phone. Look at the top of the browser tab—does it show a title? Now search your business name in Google and look at the snippet that appears. Is there a description under the link? If either is missing or different from what appears on desktop, fix it this week. The title and description must be identical on both versions, or Google will get confused about what your page is about.
Tip 2: Make sure all your images appear on mobile and have descriptions
Visit your mobile site and scroll through a few pages. Do you see all the images that appear on desktop? If some are missing, they are probably blocked or hidden. Also check that each image has alt text—the hidden description that appears if an image fails to load. Use the same alt text on mobile and desktop. If you use a website builder, check the image settings to make sure alt text is filled in.
Tip 3: Test that your mobile site loads all the same resources as desktop
On your phone, open your site in a browser and wait for it to fully load. Then open the same page on a desktop computer. Do they look the same? Are buttons, forms, and links working on mobile? If your mobile site is missing buttons or features that appear on desktop, Google will see different content between the two versions. If you use a website builder or have a separate mobile site, ask your developer to confirm that mobile and desktop pages have the same content and functionality.
Tip 4: Remove or shrink ads at the top of your mobile pages
If you run ads on your site, check how they look on a phone. Ads at the very top of the page take up valuable screen space on a small device and create a poor experience for visitors. Move ads lower on the page or make them smaller. The goal is to let visitors see your actual content first, before they see any ads.
Tip 5: If you have a separate mobile URL, set up the correct linking
If your mobile site has a different web address than your desktop site (for example, m.yoursite.com instead of yoursite.com), you must tell Google they are the same page. This requires special code called rel=canonical and rel=alternate links. This is technical work—if you do not know how to do this, ask your web developer or hosting company to set it up. Without this, Google may index both versions separately and split your ranking power between them.
Tip 6: Check that error pages look the same on mobile and desktop
If a page is broken or deleted, both your mobile and desktop sites should show the same error page. If your desktop site shows a working page but your mobile site shows an error, Google will drop that page from search results. Test a few old links on your phone to make sure they behave the same way as on desktop.
Tip 7: Verify your mobile site can handle Google's crawlers
Google's crawler visits your mobile site to index it. If your mobile site is slow or runs out of capacity during heavy traffic, Google may not be able to crawl all your pages. Check with your hosting company to make sure your mobile site has enough server resources. If you recently switched to a mobile-first setup and noticed a drop in search traffic, this could be the cause.
Sources
- Mobile-first indexing best practices - Google Search Central
They did the reporting. The writing and the opinions here are ours.
Questions people ask about this
Does my small business need a mobile website?
Google indexes and ranks sites using their mobile versions. Having a mobile site is not required to show up in search results, but Google recommends it. Most website builders create a mobile version automatically.
What happens if my mobile site is different from my desktop site?
Google will treat them as different pages. If your mobile site is missing content, images, or features that appear on desktop, Google will see different information and may rank them differently. Your title, description, and main content should be the same on both versions.
Why is my website ranking lower after I made it mobile-friendly?
Common reasons include missing titles or descriptions on mobile pages, blocked images, ads taking up too much space, or broken links. Check that your mobile site has all the same content and functionality as your desktop site. If you have a separate mobile URL, make sure the linking between versions is set up correctly.
Do I need to do anything special if I have a separate mobile website?
Yes. You must use special code to tell Google that your mobile and desktop sites are the same page. This involves rel=canonical and rel=alternate links. Ask your web developer to set this up if you do not know how.
Can ads on my mobile site hurt my Google ranking?
Ads at the top of your mobile page take up too much screen space and create a poor user experience. This can affect how Google treats your site. Move ads lower on the page or make them smaller so visitors see your content first.
What is the fastest way to check if my mobile site is ready?
Open your site on a phone and scroll through a few pages. Check that titles and descriptions appear, all images load, buttons work, and the page looks clean. Then compare it to your desktop site. If they look the same and work the same, you are in good shape.
This piece is about Mobile-first indexing best practices, published by Google Search Central. Go read the original; the opinions here are ours and the reporting is theirs.
