A “Mobile Usability” error in Google Search Console indicates Google’s systems have detected issues preventing smartphones and tablets from properly displaying and interacting with your website, and its urgency depends on the specific errors reported; as of December 2025, Google prioritises mobile-first indexing, meaning the mobile version of your site is used for ranking.
Google Search Console identifies these issues by ‘crawling’ your website with a mobile user-agent – essentially, mimicking a smartphone accessing your site. It then checks for factors like viewport configuration (ensuring content scales correctly), tap target sizing (buttons and links are large enough to easily press on a touchscreen), and content fitting within the screen without requiring horizontal scrolling. In December 2025, Search Console now includes detailed reports categorising these errors, and provides example URLs where they occur. Google’s systems in Australia operate identically to those globally, and the reports are available to all verified Australian business websites. The rollout of the Mobile Usability report updates in 2024 significantly improved the granularity of error reporting, allowing for more precise fixes. While not a direct ranking *penalty* currently, unresolved usability issues can negatively impact user experience and, consequently, rankings in 2026.
Essentially, Google Search Console’s Mobile Usability report functions as an automated quality control system, identifying technical barriers to a positive mobile experience.
