Google uses the mobile version of a site, crawled with its smartphone crawler, for indexing and ranking. Content missing from your mobile version may as well not exist for Google.
Example
Meera's desktop site has full fabric details, but the mobile theme hides them to save space. Under mobile-first indexing, Google sees only the shorter mobile page. She moves the details into tabs on mobile instead of removing them.
How you'll hear it
“Check the mobile version first. That is the version Google indexes.”
Don't confuse it with
- Mobile-friendly: whether the page is easy to use on a phone. Mobile-first indexing is about which version Google reads.
In India: Most Indian internet users go online mainly through smartphones, so the mobile version is usually the one your customers see too.
Related terms
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Sources
- Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices, Google Search Central