As you’ve all probably heard by now, Google rolled out its widely dreaded mobile-first index earlier this year, sending webmasters all over the world into a spiral of panic and confusion. So, now that the dust has settled a bit, was raising such an alarm really justified? Does mobile-first indexing really mean everything is changing for SEO?

Not exactly.

In reality, Google’s mobile-first algorithm is not changing the way the internet functions - it's only catching up to the way people browse the web.

About 60% of searches are done via mobile devices</a>. Not a lot of arithmetical ability is necessary to figure out that 60% is a vast majority of all online searches. Furthermore, if the latest SEO insights and predictions are to be believed, this number is only going to go up.

So, Google's long-term plan is to use mobile versions of websites to index pages. That way, it will ensure that visitors who access sites from mobile devices have a pleasant experience.

The new method of the indexing means the way we perform SEO will have to change, there’s no denying that. But, despite the evident panic surrounding the mobile-first index, its implementation will not cause a revolution within the SEO industry.

Checking If Your Website Is Up To Date in Terms of Mobile SEO

Mobile optimization basically comes down to site design, site structure, page speed, and a bunch of smaller factors that make sure you're not inadvertently turning mobile visitors away. 

All of these aspects have been present on SEO experts’ radars for years now.

The first thing you want to do when you decide to optimize your website for mobile devices is to check how it fares on Google’s mobile friendliness test. This tool will give you an overview of any problems your site has, as well as how you can go about fixing them.

Of course, don’t panic if your site doesn’t do well on Google's test. Most of the time, you’ll need to fix fundamental aspects of it, like improving its responsive design or increasing page speed.

Staying Ahead of The Curve - All the SEO Trends Worth Keeping An Eye On In 2018

Having a strong grip over your website’s mobile optimization is an important piece of the SEO puzzle in 2018 - but it's only a piece nonetheless.

In order to get to that craved number one page ranking, you need a strong understanding of both how SEO works and what the industry's current trends are. The following infographic will help you get familiar with the latter.

The infographic covers a wide assortment of SEO-related topics. It deals with many of the industry's most consistently asked questions, like how long it takes to rank on Google and other platforms, who controls the search engine market, what's the difference between organic and ads-driven traffic, how mobile phones stack up against computers, etc.

The infographic answers all of these questions within the context of the current year.

Simply put, this infographic is a significant step towards mastering the art of optimizing online content, both in terms of making it mobile-friendly and meeting other requirements search engines demand from websites.