Google and mobile-first indexing
With the growth of smartphone users and as mobile searches have become increasingly prevalent, popular search engines have progressively adjusted their algorithms to take this activity into account. Google previously announced that it was moving to mobile-first indexing across the board in September 2020. However, the global pandemic has caused tremendous upheaval for many businesses. As a result, the date has been pushed back to March 2021. This is wonderful news for businesses that need some extra time to prepare for this significant change. What can you do to take full advantage of Google mobile-first indexing before the 2021 deadline?
Improve Your Mobile Website’s Visibility
As the terminology suggests, this updated indexing strategy means that a website’s mobile version will be used to generate search engine results. Because of this, it is imperative that the search engine bots can find the mobile version of your website. Your website’s mobile version should have identical robots meta tags across all pages to optimize visibility. Lazy-loading practices are beneficial on mobile versions, but they are not required. This means that only a few of a page’s images will load initially. The user will need to click on a button to download other items. This improves initial load time dramatically and may encourage visitors to remain on the page. Finally, pay attention to blocked URLs so that the bots can reach all of the mobile version’s pages.
Keep Mobile / Desktop Content Uniform
Commonly, a website’s mobile version is light, which means that it does not have the full content that the desktop version has. While this practice may have been useful in the past to support fast load times, Google mobile-first indexing is changing the landscape. Your website’s visibility through SEO and other efforts will be based on the content on your mobile site, so that version of your website should be complete if you do not want your search results rankings hit. This extends to meta tags, alt text and all other relevant factors.
Review Image and Video Quality – Mobile 2021
You understandably want all of the images and videos on your website’s mobile version to be clear and to serve their primary purpose to the site’s visitors. At the same time, the images and videos must load quickly so that visitors do not grow frustrated and click off of the page. However, Google takes into account image quality and size. Websites that have high-quality images that qualify for Google Images are favorable. In addition to having larger and high-quality images with detailed alt text, keep the images on the mobile and desktop versions the same. This will help your website to maintain steady traffic during the Google mobile-first indexing transition. Video markup and placement within the mobile version of your website can impact visibility in the search engine results and also require strategic planning for optimal results.
What This Means for Your Dealership’s Website
While some websites are already taking advantage of the many benefits of mobile-first indexing, other websites must be fine-tuned before the full changes to indexing go into effect in March 2021. With so much of your auto dealership’s website traffic coming from leading search engines, you must be fully prepared for the mobile-first indexing before the deadline to avoid missing out on essential traffic.
Customer Scout has specialized in online marketing for auto dealerships like yours for years. We have a track record of staying on top of search engine advancements and updates, and we consistently keep our clients ahead of the game. Do you need assistance with this migration, or do you need ongoing support maximizing the full benefits of your website and your online marketing campaign? We are available to help. Contact Customer Scout today to learn more about our services.