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    4. M.ExampleSite vs mobile.ExampleSite vs ExampleSite.com

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    M.ExampleSite vs mobile.ExampleSite vs ExampleSite.com

    Intermediate & Advanced SEO
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    • 94501
      94501 last edited by

      Hi,

      I have a call with a potential client tomorrow where all I know is that they are wigged-out about canonicalization, indexing and architecture for their three sites:

      m.ExampleSite.com

      mobile.ExampleSite.com

      ExampleSite.com

      The sites are pretty large... 350k for the mobiles and 5 million for the main site. They're a retailer with endless products. They're main site is not mobile-responsive, which is evidently why they have the m and mobile sites. Why two, I don't know.

      This is how they currently hand this:

      What would you suggest they do about this? The most comprehensive fix would be making the main site mobile responsive and 301 the old mobile sub domains to the main site. That's probably too much work for them. So, what more would you suggest and why?

      Your thoughts? Best... Mike

      P.S.,

      Beneath my hand-drawn portrait avatar above it says "Staff" at this moment, which I am not. Some kind of bug I guess.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • 94501
        94501 @DonnaDuncan last edited by

        Hi Donna,

        Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.

        Best... Mike

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • DonnaDuncan
          DonnaDuncan @94501 last edited by

          Give them two options in a grid format:

          (1) do nothing;

          (2) redirect mobile to desktop

          To the right of that, use two columns to convey pros and cons.

          I guess you could do nothing and measure the impact for a few months, comparing this year to last. If things don't look good, then execute option 2. Might be hard to isolate the impact of the mobile index versus anything else though, but it's probably the best you can do.

          And then there's the 3rd option... go responsive, but as you've said, you don't have time or budget for that unfortunately.

          94501 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • 94501
            94501 @DonnaDuncan last edited by

            Hi Donna,

            Thanks for the speedy reply. Yes, the thing that makes me nervous about that recommendation from the article is how do I even begin to weigh the odds on it being a net gain and then convey it to management? I mean, it's one thing for me to think, "yeah, let's roll the dice" and another to convey the trade-offs to a very typical management in something like numbers.

            Thank you for noticing my avatar portrait. I did it over a Summer in the south of France. It will probably be worth a fortune once I am gone and regarded as a giant of the early 21st century world of art.

            I wrote Moz about the "Staff" thing and it looks like they deleted the title... all titles really.

            Best... Mike

            DonnaDuncan 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • DonnaDuncan
              DonnaDuncan @94501 last edited by

              What you have to weigh is the user impact. How much traffic are you currently getting from mobile devices? Will the desktop version of the website look awful, be hard to interact with or understand on a mobile phone or tablet device? You'll also lose the "mobile friendly" designation which might lower your rankings and click-thru rates.

              It's a trade-off decision only you can make.

              PS - I don't see "Staff" under your cool avatar.

              94501 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • 94501
                94501 @DonnaDuncan last edited by

                Hi Donna,

                Thanks for the insight and resource. What do you think of while waiting for the next year mobile responsive site, to 301 the two existing mobile sites to the desktop site? How would one begin to estimate the effect of that? Thanks, again.

                Best... Mike

                DonnaDuncan 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • DonnaDuncan
                  DonnaDuncan last edited by

                  Michael,

                  I read a helpful article that touched on this exact topic yesterday. It's https://www.searchenginejournal.com/mobile-first-index-actually-mean/178017/ . As you've already pointed out, a responsive solution is best, but if the website's mobile and desktop content are the same, you may not have to do anything right away.

                  Check it out.

                  94501 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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