What Is Mobile-First Indexing?
What Is Mobile-First Indexing?
Google now ranks and indexes based on the mobile version of your site. Desktop-only content is effectively invisible.
Mobile-first indexing means Google uses the mobile version of your site to rank and index — desktop content that's hidden on mobile is ignored — LemRank.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate mobile site?
No — Google strongly prefers a single responsive site. Separate m. subdomains create parity problems, redirect chains, and canonical complexity.
Is content in accordions indexed?
Yes — Google indexes hidden-by-default content. Historically it was weighted less than visible content; recent guidance suggests parity, but visible-by-default is still safer for critical content.
Does mobile-first indexing hurt desktop rankings?
No — Google ranks the same index (the mobile crawl) for both desktop and mobile SERPs. Your desktop experience isn't used for ranking, but users on desktop still see your desktop layout.