SEO · Mobile-first
Optimising your website for phones: mobile-first, because Google looks at the smartphone first
Make it easy for a customer with a smartphone to find your offer, call with one tap and send an enquiry without fighting the screen.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Your statistics show most visits come from phones, but there are few enquiries.
- On a phone you have to zoom in to read anything.
- The phone number is plain text that you cannot tap to call.
- The contact form is long and hard to fill in on a small screen.
- The site was built long ago, with computers in mind.
The phone is now the main way to your business. The fixes are often small, but they make a big difference.
What it is
What optimising for phones means
Google judges your website mainly by how it looks on a smartphone. This approach is called mobile-first. If content is missing on a phone or the buttons are too small, it is this weaker version that decides your visibility.
It is more than a page that simply shrinks. It means a readable font without zooming, buttons a thumb can hit, a menu that does not cover the content and a number that starts a call when tapped.
I check the site on real phones, like a customer would: I look for the service, opening hours, address, form. Whatever stops me will stop your customer too, so I fix it.
What you gain
What you gain from optimisation
More calls and messages
A customer on the street or in a queue will not fight with your site. When contact is one tap away, they more often choose you.
Google sees your full offer
The same content and information is on the phone and on the computer. The search engine gets the full picture of your business, not a poorer version of it.
An edge in local results
Phrases like “hairdresser near me” are mostly typed on a phone. A site that shows the address, hours and number straight away beats one that makes people look for them.
The desktop look stays the same
The fixes concern small screens. The desktop version looks as it did, and I show you the changes for approval before they go live.
Example
What it looks like in practice
Before optimisation
After optimisationAn illustrative example based on situations I often meet in small businesses.
Step by step
What it looks like from your side
- 1
A talk about your customers
Your part: a conversationYou tell me what customers most often want to do on your site: call, book, order.
- 2
A review on phones
Your part: nothingI view the site on real devices and write down what gets in the way. You get a list in plain language.
- 3
Fixes for approval
Your part: approvalI show you how the phone version will change before anything goes onto the live site. You tell me what you like.
- 4
Implementation and testing
Your part: nothingI make the changes and check them again on phones. The desktop version stays unchanged.
What you get
What you get
- A review of the site on phones, with a list of what gets in the way
- Readable text and buttons that are easy to hit
- A phone number and address that work with one tap
- A shorter form that can be filled in on the street
- Certainty that the phone shows the same as the computer
- A preview of the changes for approval before they go live
“I always start with my own phone and the customer's path: find the service, call, write. If something stops me, it will stop your customers too.”
Who mobile optimisation is for
- Local businesses whose customers come from a phone: workshops, clinics, restaurants, services
- Owners of older sites that were built “for the computer”
- Shops where purchases from a phone end in an abandoned basket
- Businesses that see most visits coming from phones in their statistics, but few enquiries from them
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean that Google uses mobile-first indexing?
It means that when judging your site, Google mainly takes its phone version into account. If something is only on the desktop version, it may be skipped. So on a smartphone the site should contain the same content and features that you consider important.
Is my website adapted to phones?
The simplest way is to look at it on your own phone and walk the customer's path: find a service, a number, a form. Search Console also shows mobile usability problems. If something makes it hard for you on your own device, it makes it hard for customers too.
Do I need a separate mobile site?
Usually not. One site that adjusts its layout to the screen (responsive) works best. A separate mobile version means twice the work and a risk of the two versions drifting apart. Sometimes fixes to the existing site are enough, sometimes the template has to change.
Will mobile optimisation change how the desktop version looks?
It should not, if the changes are made carefully. The fixes concern small screens and are set up so that the desktop version looks the same as before. I show you the changes for approval before they go live.
See also
What else moves your rankings
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