# Mobile-first indexing Mobile-first indexing means Google uses the mobile version of your page, crawled with the smartphone Googlebot, for indexing and ranking. The rollout was declared complete in 2023, with the last sites moved in 2024. If something is only on desktop, Google does not see it. Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/glossary/mobile-first-indexing ## What it means for a small site Your phone layout is the source of truth. Content, links, structured data and metadata must be present on mobile. If they exist only on desktop, they are not used for indexing or ranking. This decides what Google can match to a query. If your /pricing page shows a feature table only on desktop, and hides it on mobile, Google cannot read that table. You will not rank for “yourproduct pricing tiers” even if the desktop page looks rich. ## What Google does not see - Text, images or links that load only on desktop - Structured data added only to desktop templates - Title, meta description or robots tags that differ between desktop and mobile - Navigation items or footer links missing on mobile Check a real page. Load yourproduct.com/guides/getting-started on a phone and a laptop. If the H1, intro, internal links, and schema markup differ, Google keeps the mobile version. Fix the mobile one first. ## Recommended setup and the m dot case Responsive design is the recommended setup. One URL serves the same HTML content to all devices, styled with CSS for different viewports. Keep the mobile HTML complete. If you run separate mobile URLs, for example m.example.com/page, pair them correctly. On the desktop URL, add rel=alternate to the mobile URL. On the mobile URL, add rel=canonical back to the desktop URL. Keep content, links and structured data equivalent on both. > Rule: do not ship extra content on desktop that you omit on mobile. Parity wins. ## Where it shows in your reports Search Console shows the mobile crawl first. The Performance report reflects what Google indexed from the mobile version. Filter by Device: Mobile to see clicks and queries from phone users. The Core Web Vitals reports prioritise mobile field data. If your mobile LCP is slow, the page can lose visibility even if desktop is fast. ## How to check a page and fix gaps 1. **Open the mobile page** On your phone, load yourproduct.com/pricing. View source if you can, or use your desktop browser in a small viewport. 2. **Compare key elements** Match H1, intro, main copy, internal links, and any product table with the desktop version. They must exist on mobile. 3. **Check metadata and structured data** Ensure the title, meta description, robots directives and JSON-LD are identical or equivalent on mobile. 4. **Review navigation and links** Make sure header, footer and in-body links present on desktop also appear on mobile. Avoid hiding cross-links behind infinite sliders. 5. **Fix and recheck** Update the mobile template to include the missing parts. When done, monitor the page in Search Console for impressions on the target queries. A fixed page example: /pricing shows the full feature grid, the same FAQ schema, and the same internal links on both mobile and desktop. The Performance report starts to show impressions for “pricing features” on mobile. > Warning: if you block resources for mobile, for example disallowing CSS or JS files to the smartphone Googlebot, rendering can fail and content may be missed. ## Questions ### Is mobile-first indexing still relevant? Yes. Google completed the rollout in 2023, with the last sites moved in 2024. Your mobile version is what gets indexed and used for ranking. Build and test for phone first. ### Do I need an m.example.com site for mobile-first indexing? No. Responsive design is recommended. Use a separate mobile domain only if you already have it and can maintain parity. If you do, keep rel=alternate and rel=canonical in place. ### How long does it take for my site to be indexed on mobile? There is no fixed time. Google crawls with the smartphone Googlebot when it discovers or revisits your URLs. Help discovery with a clean XML sitemap and internal links. Monitor new pages in Search Console. ### What does a mobile-first approach mean for SEO? Design for phone screens, but keep the same content, links, metadata and structured data as desktop. Do not hide key copy, tables or navigation on mobile. Test performance on mobile networks. ### What is indexing in a phone? This term is often confused. Here it means Google uses a smartphone crawler to index the mobile version of your web pages. It is not about files indexed on your handset. ## Read next - [How to use Google Search Console in ten minutes a week](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-use-google-search-console): A quick weekly routine: set four filters, compare 28 days, check pages then queries, and fix three findings, without getting lost in noise. - [The Search Console performance report, column by column](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-performance-report): Every column in the Google Search Console performance report explained with the traps that trip small sites, and how to act on each. - [The Core Web Vitals report in Search Console, page group by page group](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-core-web-vitals-report): Understand where the Core Web Vitals data comes from, how page groups work, what to fix by template, and how to move groups to Good. - [Canonical tags: what they do and the mistakes that cost rankings](https://porteur.ai/guides/canonical-tag): What a canonical tag does, when to use one, the mistakes that cost rankings, and how to check and fix canonicals on a small site. - [Alternate page with proper canonical tag: what Search Console means](https://porteur.ai/guides/alternate-page-with-proper-canonical-tag): What this Search Console status means, when to ignore it, when it hides the wrong page, and the exact checks and fixes to set the right canonical. - [Mobile page speed: the version of your site that Google reads](https://porteur.ai/guides/mobile-page-speed): Run a mobile page speed test the way Google reads your site. See field vs lab, why phones are slower, the key fixes, and how to verify on a real device. Want to see what Google reads on your mobile pages? Paste a URL into Porteur to scan your site and rivals in about thirty seconds, free, and get three findings. Free check: https://porteur.ai/