Why do mobile and desktop search results often display different numbers of URLs (or different selections of pages) from the same website?
We’ve touched on a point where the interaction between Google’s indexing and its mobile-first indexing strategy causes a common point of confusion. What we ran across while figuring it all out was relieving!
It’s true that you might observe discrepancies in the number of indexed pages between mobile and desktop search results. This stems from Google’s mobile-first indexing approach, which fundamentally prioritizes the mobile version of your website for crawling, indexing, and ranking. Google’s index is now primarily built from what Googlebot sees on the mobile version of your site.
Here’s a breakdown of the key factors contributing to these discrepancies:
Mobile-First’s Dominance:
- Google’s focus on mobile-first means that even if your desktop site is robust, a deficient mobile experience will negatively impact indexing and ranking.
Content Parity is Critical:
- Ensure complete content parity between mobile and desktop versions. While “hidden” content on mobile (e.g., using accordions) is generally acceptable, all primary content and content that effects the meaning of the page, must be accessible to Googlebot.
Rendering Challenges:
- Googlebot sometimes struggles with JavaScript rendering on mobile. If crucial content is rendered client-side and Googlebot can’t render it, that content might not be indexed. Use Google Search Console’s Mobile-Friendly Test to identify rendering issues.
Structured Data Consistency:
- Maintain consistent structured data implementation across both mobile and desktop. Inconsistencies can lead to indexing problems, particularly with rich results.
Page Experience Signals:
- Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) are crucial mobile-first ranking factors. Poor mobile page experience affects both indexing and rankings.
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- LCP: Largest Contentful Paint
- FID: First Input Delay
- CLS: Cumulative Layout Shift
Canonicalization Accuracy:
- Canonical tags must be correctly implemented on the mobile version. If mobile pages incorrectly canonicalize to desktop versions, they won’t be indexed.
‘Site:’ Operator Limitations:
- The ‘site:’ operator provides a rough estimate, not a precise count. It can vary based on Google’s processing and doesn’t perfectly differentiate between mobile and desktop results.
Google Search Console Monitoring:
- Google Search Console is indispensable for monitoring mobile indexing issues. Pay close attention to the ‘Mobile Usability’ and ‘Coverage’ reports to identify and resolve problems.
In essence, while our findings show that Google’s indexing is primarily mobile-driven now, the ‘site:’ operator’s limitations and potential mobile/desktop differences can lead to variations in reported indexed page counts. Secondly, we show that when webpages “approved” by Google (accepted to be indexed but “not indexed”) receive targeted advertising/messaging visitors without web content change, soon become indexed. How long? We’ve seen for up to 3 to 4 weeks. We found that any traffic (SM, subs, email, etc), recognized by Google Analytics, shows this result.
Prioritizing a consistent, high-quality mobile experience with a sprinkle of UNQUIE VISITS is paramount for effective indexing and ranking today!
