Mobile SEO Rule

Mobile SEO Rule

Comprehensive mobile optimization checks including viewport, touch targets, font sizes, and mobile navigation

What This Rule Checks

Validates viewport configuration, detects small font sizes (<16px), checks touch target dimensions (44x44px minimum), verifies Apple touch icons, checks for mobile navigation patterns, and detects AMP implementations.

Why It Matters for SEO & GEO

Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning the mobile version of your site is the primary version for ranking. Poor mobile optimization directly impacts search rankings and user experience.

How to Fix

Ensure proper viewport tag with width=device-width. Use minimum 16px font size. Make touch targets at least 44x44px. Add apple-touch-icon for iOS. Implement responsive navigation.

Examples

Bad

<div style="font-size: 10px" onclick="go()">Tiny clickable text</div>

Good

<button style="font-size: 16px; min-width: 44px; min-height: 44px">Tap Here</button>

How VibeLinter Checks Mobile SEO

VibeLinter’s meta/mobile-seo rule performs these comprehensive checks:

Viewport meta tag — Ensures viewport is present with width=device-width; flags user-scalable=no
Apple mobile meta tags — Checks for apple-mobile-web-app-title when apple-mobile-web-app-capable is set
Touch icons — Verifies apple-touch-icon or icon link tags exist for mobile devices
Font size check — Scans inline styles for font sizes below 16px, counting affected elements
Touch target sizes — Checks clickable elements (links, buttons, inputs) for dimensions under 44x44px
Mobile navigation — Looks for mobile-friendly navigation patterns (hamburger menus, responsive toggles)
AMP detection — Reports AMP implementations via <link rel="amphtml">

Configuration

// vibelinter.config.cjs
module.exports = {
  rules: {
    'meta/mobile-seo': {
      enabled: true,
      severity: 'warning'
    }
  }
}

SEO Impact

Mobile optimization directly affects:

Mobile-first indexing — Google ranks your site based on its mobile version
Core Web Vitals — Mobile-specific performance metrics influence rankings
User engagement — Poor mobile UX increases bounce rates and reduces dwell time
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) — AI assistants often serve mobile users; well-optimized mobile pages are more likely to be referenced in AI-generated answers on mobile devices