Google is switching to ‘mobile first’ indexing — how your online store will be affected

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

Google has announced solid plans for switching over to completely “mobile first” indexing — a change that could affect some Shopify and other ecommerce stores’ search engine rankings.

The search giant says it will start crawling using its mobile bot almost exclusively in September of 2020.

Google has been working on making this transition for several years now.

The change will affect all websites, including ecommerce stores.

In a blog post, Google says it estimates about 70% of websites overall are ready for the change and it’s sending out notices to owners of websites that aren’t and use its in house webmaster tools.

Google is pointing site owners to its Search Console tool for more details about compatibility. If a store owner is not using this tool already, it typically can be set up easily.

The use of other technologies, such as JSON-LD, rich snippets, WebP images and AMP will likely also help ensure particular stores are more mobile friendly.

However, if your Shopify or online store uses responsive web design, like most themes do, that’s a good sign that you’re ready, but it’s also a good idea to check using Google’s tools.