Google’s mobile update was an effort to ensure that search results were more compatible with mobile devices. Following this implementation, mobile-friendliness was established as a formal search engine ranking signal for all websites.
Google’s mobile-friendly update was initially rolled out in 2015 and served to boost the search rankings for websites that demonstrated mobile compatibility, exclusively affecting mobile search results (and not results seen on tablets or desktop computers).
This change enabled users to obtain more accurate and pertinent search results when utilizing mobile devices. Websites that were not optimized for mobile consumption saw a corresponding decline in their rankings. However, Google provided helpful resources such as the Mobile-Friendly Test and the Search Console Mobile Usability Report to assist site owners in addressing this issue. Using these tools, owners could assess their content for mobile compatibility features and apply necessary corrections.