Mobile & Accessibility

Mobile and
Accessibility Audit

How the site performs on the device Google uses for ranking.

Where to find it: Search Console > Page Experience | Google Mobile-Friendly Test | Chrome DevTools > Device Emulation

What It Is

Google uses mobile-first indexing — it crawls and evaluates the mobile version of a site to determine rankings, even for desktop searches. The mobile audit checks that the mobile version is functionally equivalent to the desktop version (same content, same internal links, same structured data), that page experience signals are met (no intrusive interstitials, full HTTPS), and that basic accessibility requirements are in place. Missing alt text affects both users and Googlebot's ability to understand image content.

Why It Matters

Sites where the mobile version is significantly different from the desktop version — missing content, different internal links, reduced schema markup — are at a ranking disadvantage despite potentially excellent desktop experiences. Since Google indexes the mobile version, any content or link that exists only in the desktop version is invisible to Google. The mobile audit catches these discrepancies before they compound into ranking suppression that's difficult to trace back to a mobile-desktop parity failure.

Common Audit Failure Points

What Goes Wrong

Understanding where audits fail — and why — is the first step to executing them correctly.

Mobile Version Missing Content Present on Desktop

Responsive design implementations that hide significant content blocks on mobile — sections, FAQs, or product descriptions visible only on desktop that Google can't index because it indexes the mobile version.

Intrusive Interstitials on Mobile Page Load

Full-screen popups, newsletter signup overlays, or cookie consent banners appearing immediately on page load on mobile devices — a direct Page Experience violation that Google has confirmed affects rankings.

Missing Alt Text on Images Sitewide

Images without alt text across the site — affecting both accessibility for screen reader users and Googlebot's ability to understand image content, including images that may be the LCP element.

Mixed Content on HTTPS Pages

HTTP resources (images, scripts, stylesheets) loading on HTTPS pages — generating mixed content warnings in browsers and reducing the security score that contributes to Page Experience signals.

Interactive Standard Operating Procedure

The Audit Playbook (Interactive SOP)

Check off each step to track your audit progress live!

Audit Progress: 0% Completed (0/7)

1. Run Google Mobile-Friendly Test on 5 Key Page Types

Test: homepage, primary service or product page, blog post, category page, and a form or conversion page. Document pass/fail status and any specific mobile usability issues flagged — particularly text too small to read and clickable elements too close together.

2. Compare Mobile vs. Desktop Versions in Chrome DevTools

Open each key page in Chrome DevTools > Device Mode with a mobile viewport. Compare the mobile rendering against desktop: is all significant content visible? Are all internal links present? Is the structured data still rendered? Document any content present on desktop but missing on mobile.

3. Check for Intrusive Interstitials on Mobile

Load each key page on a mobile viewport and document any full-screen overlays appearing on initial page load. Replace recommendations: slide-in banners, bottom bars, or overlays triggered by user interaction rather than on-load. A small bottom banner doesn't violate Page Experience; a full-screen overlay does.

4. Export Images From Screaming Frog and Audit Alt Text

Export all images from the crawl. Flag: images with no alt attribute, images with an empty alt attribute (acceptable for decorative images only), and images with alt text that is keyword-stuffed rather than descriptive. Prioritize images on high-traffic pages and images that serve as the LCP element.

5. Confirm Full HTTPS Implementation

Check for mixed content using Chrome DevTools > Security panel on key pages. Confirm all resources (images, scripts, stylesheets, fonts) load over HTTPS. Verify the entire site redirects from HTTP to HTTPS with a single-hop 301 redirect for all URL patterns.

6. Review Page Experience Signals in Search Console

Open Search Console > Experience > Page Experience. Document the percentage of pages passing all Core Web Vitals signals, HTTPS status, and the intrusive interstitials signal. Note both mobile and desktop signal status separately — Google uses mobile for ranking.

7. Test on Actual Mobile Devices After DevTools Review

After completing DevTools emulation testing, test on at least one actual iOS device and one Android device. Pay attention to JavaScript rendering differences, touch target behavior, and any interactive elements that behave differently in emulation versus hardware. DevTools emulation misses real-device rendering issues that appear on hardware.

Tools

Google Mobile-Friendly Test
Free | Quick mobile compatibility check with specific usability failure reasons — useful for client-facing documentation
Chrome DevTools Device Mode
Free | Mobile viewport emulation for content parity comparison — essential for identifying content visible only on desktop
Screaming Frog
Paid/Free tier | Image alt text audit across the full site — export all images with empty or missing alt attributes in one crawl

Time Investment

1–2 hours

Mobile Audit

5 min — never skip

Real Device Testing

Pro Tip

Test on an actual mobile device after reviewing in DevTools emulation.

Chrome DevTools emulation is an excellent starting point but misses some real-device rendering issues — JavaScript that works in emulation sometimes breaks on actual mobile hardware, touch targets that look correctly sized in DevTools are sometimes too small on a physical screen, and some mobile-specific CSS behaviors only manifest on real devices. A 5-minute test on one iPhone and one Android after completing DevTools review catches the issues that emulation misses, and prevents you from missing real-device bugs in your audit findings.

Ep 7: Link Audit — Internal and External Ep 9: Audit Report Writing and Client Presen...

Mobile andAccessibility Audit