SEO & Mobile-First Indexing – Optimising Websites for Mobile Users

30-Second Summary:

• Mobile-first indexing is critical for SEO success as the majority of web traffic comes from mobile devices.
• Key areas for optimisation include having a responsive website design, faster loading times, and a streamlined mobile user experience (UX).
• Ignoring mobile users can be detrimental to both organic traffic and conversions.

With the majority of people browsing the internet on their smartphone or tablet, it is no surprise that businesses need their websites to work faultlessly on them. Whilst some people do still browse on laptops and desktops, most people access by smart devices that are just much more convenient and faster. In the last quarter of 2024, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 62.54% of global website traffic, according to Statista.

Prioritising mobile-friendly designs and functions for a website is crucial. As per Google’s documentation, they use the mobile version of a site’s content for indexing and ranking, called mobile-first indexing, so not optimising your website for mobile devices will impact overall visibility and user engagement.

As this is crucial for your success, below we’ll explore why optimising your website for mobile users is essential and which strategies can ensure your site is optimised for mobile-first indexing and SEO.

What is Mobile-First Indexing?

As Google predominantly uses the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking, they “strongly recommend” websites to have this for their pages. Whilst in the past the desktop version of a page’s content was favoured, which caused issues for mobile users when trying to load up a site, technology moved on and smartphones became more prevalent, meaning mobile-first indexing became much more important. Since 2016, Google worked to shift towards this, eventually completing the rollout in 2023.

Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites in their search results to improve the user experience on these devices. For businesses, this has meant having a responsive or mobile-friendly site that offers the same quality of content as the desktop version is no longer optional. Implementing an SEO and mobile-first indexing approach ensures that your site remains competitive in the SERPs and meets the expectations of modern consumers – they want quick and easy access to information and services on the go.

What Are The Key Strategies to Optimise Your Website for Mobile Users?

So, what do you need to do to provide the best experience on mobile? How can you do so whilst also focusing on SEO efforts, enhancing functionality and improving user engagement? Here are a few key areas to consider so that your website performs well in a mobile-first indexed world:

• Responsive Design – Ensure your website automatically adjusts to fit the screen size and orientation of any device, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. A responsive web design is essential in providing a consistent user experience across all platforms.
• Speed Optimisation – Mobile users expect fast loading times, otherwise they’ll go elsewhere. Compress images, use browser caching, and minimise HTTP requests that can slow down your site. Your website’s Core Web Vitals will indicate how well this is going, and you can check this in Google Search Console where it will tell you where improvements are needed. You can also use PageSpeed Insights here.
• Simplified Navigation – Mobile screens offer limited space compared to desktop, so prioritise easy navigation to ensure users can find what they need without unnecessary taps or swipes. Use large, easy-to-click buttons and keep menus concise.
• Optimise Content – Adapt the content layout to suit mobile viewing. Use short, engaging paragraphs and bullet points for easy reading rather than large blocks of text. Ensure that your key information is visible without requiring users to scroll extensively.
• Touch-Friendly Elements – Design your responsive site with touch in mind. All buttons, menus, and CTAs should be of a comfortable size to prevent mis-taps and enhance the overall UX. Also, be sure there isn’t lots of pop-ups that can take up the screen.

You can significantly improve your site’s mobile usability and provide an optimal experience by keeping the above in mind, especially when designing a new website or going through a redesign.

What to Avoid When Optimising Your Website For Mobile

• Neglecting Mobile UX – Focusing solely on desktop features can lead to a poor mobile user experience. Ensure that mobile users face no difficulty navigating your site by always checking any design elements on both desktop and mobile.
• Using Intrusive Pop-Ups – While they might be effective on desktop, pop-ups can be frustrating on mobile devices, often covering the whole screen which can lead to a negative user experience.
• Forgetting to Test on Real Devices – Always check on an actual mobile device how pages on your site load up and how simple the experience is for users.

Aligning your website design with your SEO efforts can ensure you have the best chance of ranking well in search engines and provide a UX people enjoy. If you are an eCommerce website, you don’t want users to choose your competitors over something that can be easily avoided, so focusing on SEO and mobile-first indexing is a necessity.

Mobile-First Index & SEO – How We Can Help Your Website

At Absolute, we can help you create a responsive web design whilst also delivering a bespoke SEO agency strategy that ensures you do not fall foul of mobile-first indexing. We can provide a comprehensive audit of your website’s mobile usability and speed to identify key areas for improvement, recommending where responsive design enhancements can help. We’ll ensure page speeds are lightning quick, and that content is perfect for mobile users to experience, alongside SEO optimisation.

If you want to stay competitive in the SERPs, optimising your website for mobile users will enhance user engagement and improve your performance. Contact the team today if you need any assistance with improving your website and take advantage of our award-winning SEO strategies that will bring in more organic traffic and conversions.

For more insights from our blog, please read 7 best practices for Ecommerce Website Design, and learn more about 5G and Mobile Marketing: How fast connections will change consumer behaviour in 2025.