With mobile usage increasing, it is becoming more and more important to improve and develop mobile sites. This move is not only for user experience such as AMP but also for improved SEO. Despite Google’s announcement of a mobile first index to be launched in 2017 a combination of delays, trials and complication have pushed the roll out date back to 2018.
Following the continual flow of data heralding the age of mobile search most business’ would have improved their mobile sites, some maybe even switching to m-dot sites. While this may be been the most tactical move in the pre-mobile index era, that isn’t necessarily the case.
In fact, Google is urging site owners to change their m-dot sites to fully responsive websites before their 2018 roll out. Their reason for this is that full responsive sites already have an indexing system in place, so when the roll out occurs, sites will automatically migrate to mobile-first index.
However, should m-dot sites migrate after the roll out the process will take far longer, which could have short-term and long-term impacts on your mobile site. According to Google, the roll out will occur on a site-by-site basis rather than a single launch date in which all sites switch over at the same time.
While you don’t necessarily have to shift over you m-dot site now, it’s definitely worth doing before 2018 so that your mobile site is ahead of the game.