Google to Build a 'Primary' Mobile Index for Search Results in the Next Few Months

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 14 October 2016 17:17 IST

Highlights

Garry Illyes said that the mobile index should arrive in a few months
The new mobile index will be updated more often than desktop
It will be considered as the primary index by Google

Google to Build a 'Primary' Mobile Index for Search Results in the Next Few Months

Google is going to create a new mobile index for its search engine in the following months. The mobile index will work separately from the desktop index, and be more updated than the desktop index. In the meanwhile, Google is also testing a recommendation widget in search results.

The move to create a new mobile index was announced at Pubcon by webmaster trends analyst with Google, Garry Illyes. He confirmed to Search Engine Land that this should happen in a 'few months'. The mobile index will be the primary index that the search engine utilises to responding to queries. This desktop engine will also be maintained, but the mobile index will get more priority and be updated more frequently.

The announced move comes as more and more users have started to use the search engine on portable devices. It clearly makes sense for Google to shift focus and create a separate index targeted at mobile users. This idea was first announced last year at SMX, and is now finally being executed.

The guidelines for building a mobile index will presumably be very different from that of desktop, as the content is generally crisper and short. Google has provided little clarity on the technicalities, and has only maintained a vague timeline for finalising them.

This will urge Internet businesses to optimise their content for mobile, and build responsive or mobile exclusive products.

Additionally, Google is also testing a new recommendation widget in its search results page, Android Police reports.

This widget is showing up only for select users, and it shows other related searches right below the link you tapped. This works just like the related searches that show up at the bottom of the page, but the widget is placed right below a link, eradicating the need to scroll all the way down for related searches. This appears only when you tap on a search result, and then go back to the Google search page. The widget shows up right below the link you previously tapped on.

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