Do search results differ greatly when you search on mobile?

[BlueLinkERP]

If you have a site with responsive design, is Google likely to look upon you more favourably and dramatically change rankings?

[intSchools]

Yes, results can differ when searching on mobile compared to desktop. Ushave usually differs different intent when searching on mobile and search engines will react to this.

Google does favour responsive design. One of the key reasons for this is because the problem of having duplicate content is significantly reduced. Previously, you would have had at least two URLs - one for your mobile site and the other for your desktop version. With responsive web design, all content is held within one site with a single URL. This not only benefits the user but it also allows search engines to crawl your website much easier.

You can read more about Google's recommendation to use responsive web design below:

https://developers.google.com/webmasters/smartphone-sites/details

[BlueLinkERP]

Does mobile search differ primarily with things like localized results? Or is Google likely to actually switch up the rankings based on sites that are more mobile friendly?

[intSchools]

Hard to say how much Google rank mobile friendly website more, it depends on intent mostly. Mobile does differ based on localised results.