An Index Divided: Google’s Separate Mobile Search Engine Will Freshen Mobile Searches
It’s no secret that mobile devices have taken over as the primary method used to access the internet and look up answers to questions. Now when a person needs to do a web search they simply pull out a smart phone or tablet and have search results ready in moments. Google is taking notice of this shift in search trends, and has decided to make a change to help improve the search experience for mobile users.
A Google update will make a dedicated mobile index
According to an announcement made at Pubcon by Google’s webmaster trends analyst Gary Illyes, the coming months will bring a division of the current search index system in place. The divide will leave two separate search engines for mobile and desktop users in an effort to provide fresher, higher quality content for the mobile experience. Not only will there be a separate mobile index, but Google plans to make this new search engine their primary index from which queries are answered.
While the idea was hinted about at SMX East in late 2015, it is a now roughly a year later that Google has decided to move forward with their plan. Though we have heard that there will indeed be two indexes, we have heard little else, which has many people asking just what this new step will mean for the way the search engines will work.
We do know that the mobile index will be the one most frequently updated and that Google’s ranking algorithm for mobile results can focus on content that is purely mobile, rather than pulling pages from desktop content that is merely mobile-friendly. Yet the question remains, what do desktop searchers have to look forward to in the coming change?
The implications for desktop users are unclear as of yet
As the secondary index, the desktop search engine will be updated less frequently than the mobile one. If the mobile index won’t be used to provide desktop results, this could mean that desktop users will see a decrease in the quality of their searches. Even though mobile users are overtaking desktop ones, the desktop search is still widely used among private individuals and professionals alike. Hopefully, Google will be able to enlighten us as to the full implications and plans of the new mobile index in the days to come, so stay tuned to the 1 Source Media Group blog for all the latest news.
Comments