What You Need to Know About Google's Mobile First & Amp by Jennifer Slegg

1. WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT
GOOGLE’S MOBILE
FIRST & AMP

2. About Me
Jennifer Slegg
I am the Founder & Editor of
The SEM Post
You can find me at @jenstar
@TheSEMPost www.TheSEMPost.com
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3. WHAT IS
MOBILE-FIRST?
And why do site owners need to worry?
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4. @Jenstar
Mobile-First
Google will begin indexing the
MOBILE VERSION of
webpages
This is a change from how
they currently index the
DESKTOP VERSION pages.
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5. @Jenstar
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6. “Google will begin indexing
AND RANKING websites
based on what those pages
serve to mobile users”
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7. BUT WHY?
Short answer: More people search from mobile devices.
Longer answer: When you serve different content based on
device, users get upset when they can’t find it.
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8. @Jenstar
▸More than 50% of searches
are done on mobile
▸Some mobile content doesn’t
match desktop
▸Users can’t find the content
on mobile, because it only
exists on desktop
▸When this happens, many
blame Google
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9. WILL YOU BE
IMPACTED?
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10. @Jenstar
Is Your Site… Responsive?
▸ This means your site
automatically adjusts based
on screen width.
▸ You serve the same MAIN
CONTENT to all users.
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11. @Jenstar
Does Your Site… Use Different
URLs for Desktop vs Mobile?
example.com vs m.example.com
▸Is the main content different
between them?
▸If so, Houston, we have a
problem…
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12. @Jenstar
Truncated Content on Mobile
▸If you have keywords and
information ONLY available on
desktop, YOU WILL NO
LONGER RANK FOR THAT
CONTENT
▸If you don’t update, you will
lose traffic.
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13. @Jenstar
Is Your Site Desktop Only?
▸ You lose an important
ranking boost
▸ Google WILL still index &
rank your desktop only site,
BUT they will crawl it as the
mobile Googlebot.
▸ Google will NOT penalize
this
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14. @Jenstar
Structured Data
▸ Do you strip schema markup
from mobile version?
Often done for mobile page speed
▸ You need to add it back to
mobile pages
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15. @Jenstar
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16. @Jenstar
If markup is NOT on mobile
pages, you will LOSE your rich
snippets in the search results.
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17. WHAT TO DO?
How to fix these issues…
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18. @Jenstar
Content
▸ Make sure you have the
same content on BOTH
desktop and mobile
▸ This is the BEST user
experience
▸ This is Google’s
recommendation
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19. TECHNICAL
DETAILS
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20. @Jenstar
Title Tags
▸Did you know mobile title
tags are longer?
▸Consider updating title tags
▸~ 78 characters
thesempost.com/mobile-titles/
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21. @Jenstar
Content “Hidden” Behind Tabs
& Accordions
▸ Google will not devalue
▸ Eg. Wikipedia
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22. @Jenstar
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23. @Jenstar
Canonicals
▸ Do NOT need to update
canonicals to make mobile
URLs primary.
▸ Google confirmed they will
sort it out.
▸ BUT make sure if you use m.,
canonicals are set up.
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24. @Jenstar
Mobile Friendly Ranking Boost
▸ Mobile friendly pages will
still receive the ranking
boost associated with being
mobile friendly.
▸ Check yours:
https://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly
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25. @Jenstar
What Does Mobile Googlebot
See?
▸ Use Fetch as Google in
Google Search Console
▸ Select Mobile: Smartphone
▸ No need to Submit (limits)
▸ If m., verify first!
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26. @Jenstar
What Does Mobile Googlebot
See?
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27. @Jenstar
Robots.txt
▸ Check against Robots.txt in
Google Search Console
▸ Ensure mobile pages are
crawlable!
Yes, this happens!
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28. MOBILE POPUPS
& INTERSTITIALS
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29. @Jenstar
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30. @Jenstar
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31. @Jenstar
Mobile Interstitials & Popups
▸ Google will remove mobile
friendly ranking boost from
sites serving interstitials and
popups
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32. @Jenstar
Mobile Interstitials & Popups
▸ Do not use interstitials /
popups on first page visit
from search results.
▸ Can use on subsequent
pages
▸ BUT think user experience.
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33. @Jenstar
Mobile Interstitials & Popups
▸ Google not releasing sizes of
“allowable” popups
▸ Is it too obtrusive to keep
mobile friendly ranking
boost? No way to tell now.
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34. Mobile First
Live?
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35. @Jenstar
Google is Testing!
▸ Starting with limited testing
▸ Globally
▸ Likely won’t notice
▸ Google WILL give more
specific dates when it gets
closer.
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36. AMP IT UP!
Accellerated Mobile Pages…
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37. @Jenstar
What is AMP?
▸ Framework for fast-loading
mobile pages
▸ Not just Google. Also used
by third parties including
Bing & Pinterest
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38. ▸AMP is really, really fast.
▸Articles are cached; load
almost instantly
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39. @Jenstar
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40. @Jenstar
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41. @Jenstar
Benefits of AMP
Some users prefer AMP…
Why?
▹Speed
▹Uses less data
▹Speed
▹Can be easier to read
▹Did I mention speed?
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42. @Jenstar
▸Not-so-much Benefits of AMP
▸Limited customization
▸Can be revenue loss
▸Code must validate
(However, Google has become less
restrictive on this, yay!)
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43. @Jenstar
THERE IS NO RANKING
BOOST FOR USING AMP!
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44. @Jenstar
THERE IS NO RANKING
BOOST FOR USING AMP!
Instead, decide if it is best for your site…
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45. @Jenstar
Implementing AMP
Wordpress
▹ https://wordpress.org/plugins/amp/
Who Else Has AMP?
▸ Joomla
▸ Drupal
▸ Shopify
▸ Many more, both paid and free
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46. NOW COMES
THE FUN PART
…Not really…
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47. @Jenstar
Let’s Validate!
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48. @Jenstar
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49. @Jenstar
But Wait!
▸ https://search.google.com/
search-console/amp
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50. @Jenstar
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51. @Jenstar
Validator
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52. @Jenstar
Fix Validation
▸ Check validation & fix errors
▹ Missing logo
▹ Embedded content (such as
YouTube videos)
▹ Chrome AMP Validator extension
(use it to check competitor too!)
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53. @Jenstar
Montetization
▸ 40+ Ad Networks Supported
(yes, this includes AdSense)
▸ BUT… Most/all ad blockers
don’t ad block in AMP.
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54. @Jenstar
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55. @Jenstar
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56. @Jenstar
Monetization
▸ Take advantage of tools to
keep visitors on your site.
▸ Recommended articles
▸ Menu
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57. @Jenstar
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58. @Jenstar
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59. SHOULD YOU
AMP IT UP?
…
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60. @Jenstar
Probably yes…
▸ News site
▸ Recipe site
▸ Have known slow site issues
▸ Target countries with slow
connections
▸ Non-mobile friendly WP sites
wanting “quick fix”
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61. @Jenstar
Maybe think about it…
▸ Heavy ecommerce (but test
with blog/info pages)
▸ Low mobile traffic
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62. About Me
Jennifer Slegg
I am the Founder & Editor of
The SEM Post
You can find me at @jenstar
@TheSEMPost
www.TheSEMPost.com
TheSEMPost.com/panda/
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