Mobile first index update... thoughts, predictions, observations

[nomis5]

Some other webmaster sites are reporting that the Mobile First index update has begun, although only in a minor way at the moment.

My prediction is that big G will firmly cover its arse as far as this update is concerned over the next year or so as they gradually introduce it.

How do you cover your arse with an update like this? Make sure that big brands appear at the top of the SERPS, they are relatively risk free irrespective of the content they provide, G will take a very close at page 2 and 3 of the SERPS and learn from those.

For us non-big-brands. I suspect the next 18 months is gong to be really tough as far as mobile is concerned.

[JesterMagic]

Unanswerable query: Who are all these people who will slog through page after page after page of results?

Maybe Shaddows thought is correct? I am a savvy searcher (at least I like to think so :-) and I rarely go past page 3. At that point I would most likely tweak my search query and start again. The only time I go past page 3 would be checking keywords for my sites.

[NickMNS]

Unanswerable query: Who are all these people who will slog through page after page after page of results? What are they looking for? Will they even know it when they find it?

1- Webmaster like us looking to see where our pages ranks
2- Bots, probably those ranking tools.

[Shepherd]

Funny, GSC shows AVG position about 40% better for mobile over desktop. We've never given a thought towards mobile. Non responsive site designed specifically for desk/lap top viewing. We get a few mobile customers, every one of them a major PITA. Can't stand'em, don't want'em. Our niche is an outlier though, not ever going to be "mobile friendly".

[lucy24]

Can't stand'em, don't want'em.

On a tiny handful of pages, new visitors on smartphones get redirected to a page that says in essence “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Please try these other pages first.” OK, so really it’s to save my server from having to cough up several hundred sound-and-image files for someone who’s going to give up and leave in less than a minute anyway. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, kind of thing.

[Shepherd]

If we were selling Grand Pianos mobile visitors would be akin to people living in 400sf studio apartments, IF they do buy they get mad the darn thing don't fit in their apartment.

Don't get me wrong, I get it, mobile is the future of content consumption... maybe even the future of some eCommerce. The main thing is that mobile is the short term future of ad revenue for search. The length of that term will be dictated by how long eCommerce continues to pour ad dollars into marketing on a search tool for mobile devices.

[keyplyr]

Our niche is an outlier though, not ever going to be "mobile friendly".

Since the new index will be ranking your site on the merits of the mobile version, you don't feel it would be to your advantage to be mobile-friendly for that reason alone?

[RedBar]

Our niche is an outlier though, not ever going to be "mobile friendly".

Why? What is so different about your niche widgets that they couldn't be mobile friendly?

Don't get me wrong, I spent two years developing my first responsive site into html5 a few years back, it was extremely frustrating at times since I had to learn a completely new way of doing things however these days I could never imagine doing anything the "old way" because it is not only better it is also easier.

I must admit though if I had to convert a huge site into responsive I would want a lot of money to do it however a few thousand pages for me these days is relatively simple.

[lucy24]

not ever going to be "mobile friendly"

“I just want to say one word to you, Benjamin. Just one word. Responsive.”

Of course you shouldn’t waste your time on a /mobile/ version that nobody will ever use. But desktops aren’t all the same size either. Take care of those, and you’re most of the way there.

[tangor]

^True words. Even desktop should be responsive! With screen res all over the place and with larger monitors all the time, few USERS run full screen, and more than a few run multiple monitors with two or more applications running on each screen.

If a desktop site is responsive to browser width changes on desktop, it is more than halfway there for mobile.

[Shepherd]

I'm sure there's a great future in Responsive Mr. McGuire...

Some products are just not mobile friendly and frankly that will probably make them obsolete at some point... but then again everything will be obsolete at some point. For example, a product that requires printing, printing is not mobile friendly. Sure, it can be done but it's not easy and generally people want easy. That's not just a mobile thing though, printers seem to be going the way of the dvd player and the cable box, fewer people have them every day.

Since the new index will be ranking your site on the merits of the mobile version, you don't feel it would be to your advantage to be mobile-friendly for that reason alone?

For most, yes. For us, not so much. The more I think about it the more I realize that I'm not relevant to this discussion. I've already changed the industry once, I'll leave the next shift to the kids. I've been meaning to spend more time in the 172 and on the golf course anyway...

[Robert Charlton]

See follow-up discussion in this new thread...

Google Mobile First index rolling out slowly/ being tested for some sites
https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4874369.htm [webmasterworld.com]

I'm locking this thread, but can open it again if further interest warrants it.