Mobile First Index Rolling Out

[ukgimp]

https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2018/03/rolling-out-mobile-first-indexing.html

[ukgimp]

Note it's mobile first indexing

[ergophobe]

In theory, this changes nothing for a responsive site and, at least for now, changes nothing for a desktop-only site.

It's the little things coming along with it that will add up, like this

Related, we recently announced that beginning in July 2018, content that is slow-loading may perform less well for both desktop and mobile searchers.

[ergophobe]

This linked article lays out nicely the primary impacts
https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/mobile-first-indexing

[Adam C]

It's the little things coming along with it that will add up, like this

Related, we recently announced that beginning in July 2018, content that is slow-loading may perform less well for both desktop and mobile searchers.

This exactly.

We had a major competitor take a substantial hit in the core update around 10 March.  They do most things right but have a slow site compared with the other leaders in the space and the winners in that update.  So we're speculating speed has become a bigger factor already this month.

[martinibuster]

Structured data playing a role. It communicates what a page is about and that helps Google sort you out. NOT just for display purposes anymore.

Other issues can affect the ability of a site to rank in position zero. For example, as  Tom mentioned in another thread, using tables to communicate data. Another issue similar to that is using a lot of links on a page. Can't be spoken or communicated in position zero, so gets screwed in the SERPs.