Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary Google has revised its search engine rules so that it can prioritize mobile searches.
Google has launched an initiative called “mobile first” whose aim is to rank websites based on whether they are mobile-friendly. However, it does not mean that support for desktop sites will be thrown out the window. Google will still support desktop orientation but it plans to shift towards a mobile-based approach.
Google is also working on making sure that the changes will not have a negative impact on the responsiveness of websites. The shift will be advantageous to websites that automatically adjust to user devices. Web developers will thus have to check whether their websites are optimized to support mobile browsing.
The company did not reveal the reasons behind the decision. Nevertheless, such a move appears rather obvious considering the fact that most people use their handsets to carry out web searches and other browsing activities. It was, therefore, logical for the company to start shifting its focus towards mobile platforms. This is one of the company’s strategies to keep up with the rapid development that has been taking place.
“We understand this is an important shift in our indexing and it’s one we take seriously. We’ll continue to carefully experiment over the coming months on a small scale and we’ll ramp up this change when we’re confident that we have a great user experience,” revealed Google’s product manager, Doantam Phan.
The new changes mean webmasters must now make sure that the content available to desktop users is similar to that which is available for mobile users, thus the websites have to be responsive. Those using filters and those without the mobile version should work towards making sure they have mobile site support and that the content is rich and without exclusions.
Alphabet stock closed the latest trading session at $781.10.