Here’s an interesting statistic: at least 40% of online transactions are now done using mobile. With that in mind, more and more brands nowadays are using a responsive web design approach.
However, to foster engagement and build brand loyalty, having a responsive web design alone won’t suffice. You also need to optimize your website for mobile search engine optimization (SEO).
Mobile SEO in a Nutshell
What is Mobile SEO?
Simply put, mobile SEO is the process of optimizing a site, so that it not only offers a great user experience but also functions accordingly on mobile devices.
Mobile SEO also ensures you can provide a positive experience for your site visitors as it makes your site look great regardless of screen size.
Mobile search is big. The past few years saw a massive rise in mobile device usage, with a whopping 76% of consumers using their mobile devices to shop online. The number is expected to rise even more as smart devices become more accessible.
While unfortunate to note, many brands don’t realize the importance of having a mobile-friendly site until it’s too late. If your website is not mobile-friendly, it will not only compromise your SEO efforts, it can also significantly impact how people perceive your business.
At least 52% of users reported they are less likely to engage with brands they have had a bad mobile experience with.
The Importance of Mobile SEO
The value mobile SEO provides businesses is no longer up for debate. However, to help you better appreciate what mobile SEO can do, let us examine some relevant statistics:
Most people spend 70% of their time online using mobile devices.
When people do some browsing online, 70% of the time, they are utilizing portable devices. With that in mind, you need to ensure you give them a positive experience each time they visit.
If you don’t adapt accordingly, you can lose a significant number of business leads due to poor mobile experience.
At least 67% of users are more likely to purchase from mobile-friendly brands.
Your site’s mobile-friendliness can impact your conversion rate significantly. In other words, people are more inclined to purchase your products if your website is mobile-friendly.
Also, if users have a positive mobile experience, they’re more likely to return to your site.
Optimizing Your Site for Mobile SEO: Best Practices to Keep in Mind
Focus on improving your site’s load time.
Google PageSpeed Insights for SEO
Site load time is a crucial component of the mobile experience when it comes to google search. When users look for information on the go, they want to access it instantly. If your site is not fast enough, your bounce rate can skyrocket dramatically.
To ensure you keep your leads and prospects on your site, make improving load time a top priority. You can use helpful tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to get information on your site’s load time.
You can also use the tool to gauge how your site performs in certain areas and where improvement is needed. If you don’t have ample coding experience or can’t find the time to make the required changes, investing in professional help would be a good idea.
Optimize your site for local searches
Local Optimization for Mobile SEO
Over the years, local SEO has become a crucial component of mobile SEO. In the past few years, mobile searches using the phrase “near me” have appeared more. What this means is more users are now searching for local businesses.
Other search phrases people use to find local businesses near them include “open now,” “where can I buy,” and “near me.” With more people now doing local searches on mobile, it makes perfect sense to adapt your strategy to reach these people.
Effectively adapt to local searches by using local keywords. A keyword like “flower shop in Stockholm” is an excellent example of a local keyword. If someone searches for a local flower shop, they’re more likely to use the format “flower shop in [city]” to find one.
You can use structured data and display reviews or ratings to enhance the user experience.
Make the user experience a top priority
Responsive design is an integral part of creating a positive user experience on the mobile web. When visitors can access and browse through your sites with ease on a mobile browser, it creates a positive experience for them.
However, as mentioned earlier, a great site will require more than just integrating responsive design. While responsive design is a massive part of creating a positive mobile experience, other elements need to be incorporated to ensure a favorable user experience.
- Easy-to-find call-to-action (CTA) buttons. Call-to-action (CTA) buttons will take users a step closer to converting. In line with this, ensure you have CTA buttons that stand out and are easy to find. The CTA buttons should also be big enough so users can click on them quickly.
- Legible fonts. Since users are browsing your site on smaller screens, your fonts should be readable. Regardless of whether you’ll choose a bolder font or make the size more prominent, the idea is to ensure the font is legible for users who are using mobile devices.
- ‘Thumb-friendly’ design. When designing your mobile site, you need to make it easy for your audience to click on elements on your page. To do this, consider creating a ‘thumb-friendly’ design as users often use their thumbs to browse their devices.
Use pop-ups sparingly
Avoid Using Popups For Better Mobile SEO
Pop-ups are considered an effective way to draw the user’s attention to a specific action. Regardless if it’s a pop-up to download free content or receive emails, many brands are using pop-ups to draw site visitors to perform particular actions.
Specific actions can trigger pop-ups to appear on the screen. They can appear when the user first enters the page when they scroll to a specific page, or when they move their mouse to the search results.
While pop-ups are very effective at getting the user’s attention and getting them to check any vital information you want to share, they can be an issue for those who are browsing your site using mobile devices.
If your pop-up takes up much of the screen on mobile devices, it can leave users frustrated. Pop-ups might also get in the way of whatever they are doing on your site and might prompt visitors to leave your website.
If anything, be cautious when using pop-ups. Don’t place too many pop-ups that drive people away. As a general rule of thumb, use them sparingly and only on pages where they matter most.
You also need to make sure site visitors have an easy way to get rid of a pop-up. A prominent “x” is something you can look into.
Optimize your meta descriptions and title tags
Two vital elements you need to optimize are your title tags and meta descriptions. Since mobile users are looking to access information fast, they will often refer to your title tags and meta descriptions to determine if they should click on your listing.
- Meta description. The short blurb that comes after your title tag is the meta description. It gives your users additional information about your listing. Your meta description also gives them a preview of your page. You’re more likely to get more clicks on your site by using succinct yet descriptive meta descriptions.
- Title Tags. The first thing users see in the search results is the title tags. These tags will inform your audience what your page covers. An excellent title contains your keywords. The keywords should also appear at the front of the title tag so users can quickly identify if it is relevant to their search.
Conclusion
Mobile SEO is a crucial part of growing your business online, so you need to account for users that search for your business using mobile devices. If you don’t know how to optimize your site for mobile SEO, don’t shy away from investing in the help of experts. They can get the job done while giving you more time to focus on aspects of your business that requires your immediate attention.
I hope you enjoyed reading the post. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
About the Author
Shawn Byrne is the founder and CEO of SEOPhoenix.net. Shawn started his career in I.T. troubleshooting workstations, servers including networks then went on to do SEO as a side project and quickly found success in ranking websites. It was easy for him to grasp not only the algorithms but also the technical side which most SEO strategists miss and neglect because of its complexities. SEO Phoenix then grew based on its rankings and referrals.
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