The growing importance of mobile first indexing indicates that doing well with mobile SEO is enough to ensure the same kind of ranking for mobile and desktop searches. But the reality is on the contrary because, according to the experts at New York SEO Pro, the ranking for searches originating from the different devices can be quite different. Mobile first indexing does not assure uniform ranking for mobile searches and desktop searches, and in this article, we will discuss its reasons.
First, we must understand that indexing and ranking are two different aspects. Just because we are in an environment dominated by mobile first indexing does not mean that the ranking of the mobile and desktop versions will be the same. The purpose of indexing is to help search engines identify all content worthy of consideration against search queries. Indexing done with the help of Googlebot does not influence the ranking that uses an entirely different set of algorithms.
Personalized context of searchers influence mobile and desktop ranking
Google attaches a lot of importance to search intent to present the most relevant result, similar to answering a question. It ensures a much better user experience as searchers need not look around for other search results to ascertain the correct answer. Getting the readymade answer saves time. It means that Google pays attention to the context of searchers and the device, which in some situations can influence ranking. Therefore, there are chances that the ranking for searches generated from mobile devices can be different from those generated from desktops.
Other reasons for the difference in ranking
Acceptingthat it is normal for mobile and desktop rankings to be different, let us look into some other reasons for the differentiation. Speed is one of the factors that can rank sites differently according to the device used for searching. Even mobile-friendliness can impact search ranking, which will be different for desktop searches. Another reason for the variation in search ranking based on the device is the different elements displayed on the search result page. Google usually assumes that mobile searches have a higher intention of buying and presents more local information to help searchers reach the nearby destination where the goods or services are available.
On the other hand, desktop searchers might be more inclined to view more images or videos in the search results. So it means that for the exact search term, the search results would be different based on the device used for searching.
From the above, it is clear that the same page may appear at a different position in the search results originating from mobile devices and desktops. Users might base their choice based on this positioning. Google digs deeper into search queries to discover the intention behind the search, and the devices often serve as important pointers to the intention.
Therefore, the search ranking algorithms use their logic to understand searches and present the most relevant resultwithout any reference to indexing the content.
