Chapter 17 Quiz — Mobile SEO

Twenty-five self-check questions. Answer before opening the key at the bottom.


Part 1 — Multiple choice

1. Mobile-first indexing means that Google predominantly uses which version of your page for indexing and ranking?

  • A) The desktop version
  • B) The mobile version
  • C) Whichever version loads faster
  • D) A separate AMP version

2. Under mobile-first indexing, how many search indexes does Google maintain?

  • A) Two — one mobile, one desktop
  • B) Three — mobile, desktop, and AMP
  • C) One — built from the mobile version
  • D) One per country

3. Which crawler does Google predominantly use for mobile-first indexing?

  • A) Googlebot Desktop
  • B) Googlebot Smartphone
  • C) AMP Cache Bot
  • D) Bingbot

4. Which mobile configuration does Google recommend as the default?

  • A) Separate m-dot URLs
  • B) Dynamic serving
  • C) Responsive design
  • D) AMP-only

5. The single biggest advantage of responsive design over separate m-dot URLs is that responsive design:

  • A) Loads instantly from Google's cache
  • B) Makes content parity automatic (one HTML document per page)
  • C) Guarantees a top-three ranking
  • D) Removes the need for a viewport tag

6. Content hidden behind an accordion on mobile is indexed at full weight as long as:

  • A) It is expanded by default
  • B) It is present in the mobile HTML (not fetched by JavaScript only after a tap)
  • C) It appears above the fold
  • D) It is also on the desktop version only

7. The viewport meta tag width=device-width, initial-scale=1 primarily tells the browser to:

  • A) Block pop-ups on mobile
  • B) Size the page to the device's screen instead of shrinking a desktop-width layout
  • C) Enable click-to-call
  • D) Cache the page for offline use

8. Google's guidance puts a comfortably tappable target at roughly:

  • A) 12 pixels with no spacing
  • B) 48 pixels with about 8 pixels of spacing
  • C) 100 pixels, edge to edge
  • D) There is no guidance; any size is fine

9. An intrusive interstitial that can trigger a demotion is best described as:

  • A) A cookie-consent notice required by law
  • B) A small banner at the bottom of the screen
  • C) A pop-up that covers the main content when a user arrives from mobile search
  • D) A login box on genuinely gated content

10. Why do mobile Core Web Vitals scores tend to be worse than desktop for the same page?

  • A) Google penalizes mobile on purpose
  • B) Phone networks are slower/variable and phone CPUs are weaker, slowing loading and JavaScript
  • C) Mobile pages always have more images
  • D) They don't — mobile is usually faster

11. In PageSpeed Insights, mobile and desktop are reported separately. For ranking purposes, which is generally closer to what Google assesses?

  • A) Desktop
  • B) Mobile
  • C) The average of the two
  • D) Neither; the lab score is what's used

12. Click-to-call is implemented with which kind of link?

  • A) <a href="mailto:...">
  • B) <a href="tel:...">
  • C) <a href="sms:...">
  • D) A plain-text phone number

13. For an urgent "furnace repair near me" search on a phone, the most valuable conversion is usually:

  • A) A newsletter signup
  • B) A phone call
  • C) A social-media follow
  • D) A PDF download

14. On a mobile "near me" SERP with local intent, the element that typically dominates the visible screen is:

  • A) The ten organic blue links
  • B) The local pack (map + business listings with Call/Directions)
  • C) A featured snippet
  • D) An image carousel

15. AMP stands for:

  • A) Advanced Mobile Protocol
  • B) Accelerated Mobile Pages
  • C) Automated Markup Platform
  • D) Adaptive Media Presentation

16. What removed AMP's single biggest incentive?

  • A) The Helpful Content Update
  • B) The Page Experience update opening Top Stories to any fast, quality page
  • C) The Medic update
  • D) Google shutting down AMP entirely

17. In December 2023, Google retired which of the following?

  • A) Google Search Console
  • B) The Mobile-Friendly Test tool and the Mobile Usability report
  • C) PageSpeed Insights
  • D) Core Web Vitals

18. A page's content exists only on the desktop layout, not in the mobile HTML. The most accurate statement is:

  • A) It ranks normally because Google still has the desktop version
  • B) It is at real risk of not being indexed, because Google reads the mobile version
  • C) It gets a small ranking penalty but is otherwise fine
  • D) AMP will fix it automatically

19. Which statement about mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor is most honest?

  • A) It is the single largest ranking factor
  • B) It is a real but modest page-experience consideration, not a dominant lever
  • C) It has no effect whatsoever
  • D) It guarantees a first-page ranking

20. Rivertown's current header renders its phone number as an image. The highest-ROI fix is to:

  • A) Add AMP to the site
  • B) Convert the number to a tappable tel: link, visible without scrolling
  • C) Increase the font size of the image
  • D) Move the number to the footer

Part 2 — Short answer

21. In one sentence, explain the difference between a ranking factor and a visibility prerequisite, using mobile-first indexing as the example.

22. A developer collapses your long article behind "Show more" on mobile. What is the one question that decides whether this is fine or a parity disaster?

23. Name two things responsive design does not do for you, even though it guarantees parity.

24. Why is building brand-new AMP pages "for SEO" in the current era usually a poor investment?

25. Give the two-front answer for a local business facing a local-pack-dominated mobile SERP: one front this chapter owns, one front Chapter 25 owns.


Answer key **Multiple choice:** 1-B · 2-C · 3-B · 4-C · 5-B · 6-B · 7-B · 8-B · 9-C · 10-B · 11-B · 12-B · 13-B · 14-B · 15-B · 16-B · 17-B · 18-B · 19-B · 20-B **21.** A *ranking factor* nudges where an already-visible page places; a *visibility prerequisite* decides whether the content is seen at all. Mobile-first indexing is the latter — if content isn't in the mobile version, it may never be indexed, so it can't rank regardless of any ranking factor. **22.** "Is the collapsed content in the mobile HTML from the start, or is it fetched by JavaScript only *after* the tap?" In the HTML → fine (indexed at full weight); fetched only after the tap → Google may never see it (a real parity problem). **23.** Any two of: it does not make the site *fast* (that's Core Web Vitals, Chapter 16); it does not make the page *usable* on a phone — tap targets, font size, interstitials (§17.4); it does not fix a bad information architecture or thin content. (Parity ≠ speed ≠ usability.) **24.** Because AMP is not a ranking factor, is no longer required for Top Stories (the Page Experience update removed that), and its speed is matchable by a normal responsive page that passes Core Web Vitals — so you'd be maintaining a second codebase and ceding control for a benefit that no longer exists. **25.** Front one (this chapter): make sure that when a mobile searcher reaches the site, the phone number is a one-tap `tel:` link, the page is fast enough, and no pop-up blocks it — the mobile-usability half. Front two (Chapter 25): earn the local-pack spot itself through Google Business Profile, reviews, proximity/relevance/prominence, and NAP consistency — the local-ranking half.