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Most accounting understand that the world of SEO is always in flux and just because you are doing well today doesn’t mean the future will hold the same. One day you are in and the next day out. This may be an exaggeration but Google literally changes that fast sometimes, so it’s important to stay on top of changes coming and understand how they may impact you. One such change is called Google ‘s Mobile First Index. Accounting marketers need to be aware of this change because if they are not prepared it’s likely they will lose hard-fought keyword ranking earned over several years. To help understand the change and it’s impact, we have provided a summary of key points below.

What is Mobile First Indexing?

Traditionally, Google has indexed and ranked a site based on the content which appears on the desktop version of your website. However, since there has been a seismic shift in the amount of traffic coming from mobile devices, Google will now index and rank based on the content on the mobile version of your website. This change, which is being rolled out over the last months of 2017, requires accounting marketers to make a quick assessment to determine if they are ready.

Getting Prepared

Below are key steps, I recommend you take to get up to speed on what’s coming:

1. Go to the Source– No this isn’t the Matrix and you’re not NEO. However, it’s important to read what Google has discussed on this topic. You can review Google’s explanation by clicking this link. IN summary, if you have a mobile site with content that exactly matches the desktop version then you are in excellent shape. However, if your desktop version has content, resources or other valuable information which does not appear on the mobile version, then you need to pay attention. The point of the change is that more importance is going to be given to the content and other data on the mobile site. If you don’t have your best content rendering there, then it’s time to take action.
2. Mobile Site – It makes sense that if you don’t have a mobile (or responsive) version of your website then it’s time to act. Some accounting firms have one URL for the desktop version of their website (http://www.clowncpa.com) and then another version for their mobile (m.clowncpa.com). This is the old way of doing things and while it’s still acceptable my bet is in about a year Google will add this to the “naughty list”. So take time now to ensure you have a mobile or responsive site and then to ensure the user is served from one domain and not two, as highlighted above.
3. Accordions + Tabs – It used to be that Google would discount content that was hidden in tabs and accordions. They didn’t care for this method of disguising content because it made it difficult for the user to find. However, Google has now stated they will treat this content as normal content. The reason why is because with the shift to mobile first indexing its commonsense that companies will need to present content in a compact way. So, this is a victory for web developers, SEO professionals and accounting marketers everywhere.

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Change is not an easy thing, either personally or professionally, and I have found that Google loves to change.