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Google Compares Content on Mobile Versus Desktop But Ranks Desktop Content

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google compares mobile desktopAt SMX Advanced this week, Gary Illyes from Google, during his AMA session with Danny Sullivan, commented that Google does not rank mobile content based on what is on the page served for mobile users, as the page is still ranked according to the content on the desktop page.

From one perspective, this does make a lot of sense, as sometimes content is presented differently or shortened specifically to make it easier for mobile users to digest.  But the other side of the coin it could potentially be used for spam issues.

However, even if it could potentially be used for spam, why would a site want to give a person different content when they arrived via content ranked on desktop.  The big one would be for hacked sites, and if the desktop renders perfectly, a site owner might not even realize there is an issue with the mobile version of the site being compromised.

Illyes said that a site could potentially serve up a blank page to users, but it would still rank based on the desktop content.  He did have the spam team look into it, to see if anyone was doing anything that could be spammy with desktop versus mobile, but they didn’t find anything.

Today, Maile Ohye from Google said that they do actually run comparison checks on sites, comparing desktop versus mobile, to ensure that the content “matches up” when the site is using rel=canonical.

So, if you had any evil genius plans after Gary’s comments during the AMA, it looks as though Google will have your plans thwarted by running comparison checks.

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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