Google’s John Mueller said in 2011 that he had made separate sites for desktop and mobile web search and that the desktop site had suffered more from updates than the mobile site, which explains why the mobile site has an edge in rankings. But, they are not inconsistent.
Google does not make separate sites for desktop and mobile search.
Google provides both desktop and mobile search results.
The mobile site is more likely to suffer from updates than the desktop site.
The desktop site is more likely to suffer from updates than mobile site because they are two distinct types of page: one for desktop and one for mobile, which is treated as two separate types of Google sites. This again makes a desktop site more likely to suffer from updates.
Google does not reveal the ranking factors for desktop or mobile sites.
Yes, Google does reveal that they apply a combination of factors to each site, but that does not mean that you would get the same ranking results for the two types of sites. The mobile site would be given a higher ranking if it was more relevant and less competition.
Mobile sites rank higher than desktop sites when their content has relevance, and the number of backlinks is relatively more than other sites. If their backlinks are relatively more than other sites, desktop sites are given a lower ranking.
The number of pages and pages per page determines the position of the page. The highest-ranked desktop sites are those with relatively fewer backlinks and less content. In other words, desktop sites are given higher rankings when the number of pages per page is relatively higher.
This can be explained mathematically like this. When the number of pages per page is relatively higher, the number of desktop site pages is higher than the number of pages of other sites. But, when the content of the desktop site is relatively more, it has a higher content. This is mathematically true.
Is the question the significance of a desktop site getting a high ranking in the search engine? There are two possible reasons.
1. The desktop site provides the most relevant and unique content and hence gets a higher ranking.
2. The desktop site gets a high ranking for a relatively long period. This would mean that the desktop site would benefit from being on the top of the SERP for a certain period. This would be called a long tail search engine optimization technique.
Desktop sites need to avoid mistakes made by search engine companies. These mistakes can lead to a desktop site getting a lower ranking. For example, it is also not good to sign up for mobile sites with low content. Mobile sites do not have enough content to give a satisfying result in the SERP.
Also, the mobile site should not imitate the mobile apps or the way they work. A mobile site can be easily used on iPhones and Androids. So, your mobile site should not copy or behave exactly like a search engine website. It should also not look exactly like a search engine website. Some software programs can check the mobile apps and the way they work. The point is to check the mobile site.
Now let us come to the question of how to choose the right desktop site. This is pretty simple. You can compare the features and benefits of a desktop site and a mobile site. You can also check the mobile sites to see if the parts are similar to the desktop site. Mobile sites have the advantage that they are easy to update. So, the benefit of mobile sites is that the developer can implement fresh content without much trouble and in a short time.
The mobile site should also have a link in it to the desktop site. This will give a little more weight to the desktop site. This is not a big problem and should not be feared. It is also possible to set up a backlink within the mobile site. The link will not take a lot of space.