In the next twelve months, Google will be applying updates to their mobile-first indexing methods and then making it their primary algorithm for search engine results. The short version is that if your brand isn’t presenting well on mobile devices, your SEO campaign is hobbled.
This change in search algorithm shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone since 60% of searches are performed on mobile devices. This number is only increasing as the mobile app, devices and app friendly websites become the norm as they become more affordable, useful and robust. The effect of this is that brands will just migrate to where the customers are. Just as you won’t pick up a brick-and-mortar location which isn’t popular with the customers similarly it works with mobile devices. If you do not use mobile marketing and advertising, your customer will pass you by for brands which are more visible and easier to find. This applies to every profession which is present on the web from eCommerce stores to lawyers to plumbers.
If you are scared of being left behind, doesn’t worry there is still time, and the sooner you get your mobile presence in working order, the better. Here are three steps you can take to achieve mobile SEO success:
Make sure Your Brand is represented accurately
When new technology is being adapted to your company, it is easy to believe that you can spend on the bare minimum as your audience was happy with the previous level of technology. After they seemed to be content before. Right? However, it is even more important to spend on mobile marketing and advertising on the mobile than it was on the web- as your online presence is the factor which will make or break if your audience and new customers can find your brand.
There are several online apps which will help convert your website into a mobile friendly website or create a simple app, and these tools are great solutions for many brands. However, if you want your customers to make payments over the web, or targeting Gen-Z then it would be better to invest in a technology which is more robust and impressive solutions.
Make sure your understand your requirements
As you go about setting up your mobile presence it is important to make sure that you’re taking notes on all the new requirements- or else all your effort and money will be wasted.
The new requirements and suggestions from Google are:
- Include Structured data – If you have a mobile app then it is mostly seen that you have not included structured data as this will help load your app and web pages faster. However Google will require this information to rightly rank your website, so make sure you include structured data. This is by far the most technical things to do as you may require an SEO advisor or tech lead to make sure it is done correctly.
- Publish consistent content – Make sure that the content and text which you push towards your mobile website are consistent to those that are present on your desktop website. Fight the urge to cut down on text if it is not required unless if it otherwise optimizes the website. If the web page and content seems overwhelming then consider tabs to break down the content, as Google is reversing its decision, the only partial benefit will be provided to content which is hidden on mobile.
- Don’t obstruct the user view – If you have a full-screen popup Google will penalize you. Make sure that your website is as easy to use on the mobile as it is to use on the normal desktop.
Know what Keywords Your Audience uses on Mobile
Know that even though you are targeting the same audience on the mobile website as they are on the desktop website, the audiences are not searching for the same thing on the go as they are when sitting down on a computer.
This is especially important when considering local SEO, or any location-based query targets. For example, is January 2016 when someone searches for Donald Trump they were looking for his brand location, Trump University or Trump Towers while in January 2017 when someone searches for Trump they are most likely looking for information about the president or some news items.
As you are shifting focus from Desktop to Mobile devices, the website should have the same experience as they did on the desktop computers. If you are looking to really catapult your profit margins in 2017, optimize your mobile presence to provide the best user experience.