Working in marketing or web design in any capacity, you cannot escape the importance of SEO. Strong content, combined with well-thought-out SEO, can be one of the main drivers of authentic traffic to your website, and helps to keep you at the top of Google results.
While you may have spent a lot of time refining the SEO for your website when it comes to desktop usage, have you stopped to consider the importance of mobile SEO? Read on to explore why you should make mobile SEO a priority and how this can make a big difference to any business.
Why Mobile SEO matters
Some statistics state that more than half of the internet traffic across the world is coming from mobile devices. This is a huge number, and if your website is not optimised for mobile, you could be missing out. Google favours showing the mobile version of a site when users search, so if your website does not have a mobile friendly design, you might be pushed to the bottom of the pile. No matter what kind of website you run, it needs to be optimised for mobile so that the Google algorithm recognises it as a high quality result.
Websites that have a design that looks great on desktop but also translates well to the smaller screen of a mobile device are a real must have in this modern age – but what does this mean, and how can you focus in on mobile SEO?
What does good Mobile SEO look like?
For a user, the end result is all that matters. With this in mind, it’s important to note that good mobile SEO has certain characteristics that consumers on the go might look for.
The site should load quickly and easily on either a smartphone or a tablet, and not be littered with popups. You should also consider the importance of font size – is it readable even on a small screen?
Because of the reduced space offered by a mobile device screen, the navigation should be easy and user friendly, and the entire site needs to fit to the screen size so that the user does not need to tilt their phone to a different angle.
Anything where users need to enter details or click on buttons must be fully functional on mobile – if it isn’t, it is unlikely users will reach for their laptop to continue a difficult transaction.
How to check how good your mobile SEO is
The easiest and quickest way to check how well your mobile SEO performs is to run a check through Google Lighthouse. It’s an automated tool many web developers use to check the quality of web pages. It allows you to see suggested improvements for key factors relating to your website such as performance, accessibility, SEO and more.
Google Lighthouse can provide you with many website audits, but we think there are 3 key elements you should focus on above anything else when it comes to your mobile SEO.
Concentrate on your website speed
A website that loads slowly, with pages that also take a long time to come up, is frustrating for anyone – so improving mobile SEO can cut down on users being annoyed and clicking away too quickly. However, there is another reason that you should optimise for mobile with speed in mind. Google favours sites that load faster (preferably in under 2 to 3 seconds), and this will increase your ranking – making it easier for users to find you. Read our blog for 6 tips on how to increase page load speed.
Consider user experience
One of the most important factors when considering mobile SEO is user experience. Having to hold your phone at an angle, zoom to read text, or scroll to see an entire image puts roadblocks up to users. Good mobile SEO means that your site will look and feel better to use, no matter what device users are utilising.
Focus on reducing bounce rates
If a user visits your site and only gets to your home page, they have bounced. Your bounce rate indicates that a user has struggled to use your site and could not easily find what they wanted – and this means you have lost a potential customer.
Having good mobile SEO, which is easy to navigate and highly responsive, encourages users to browse for longer. They will be able to find what they want quickly, and fill out any forms easily – creating happy customers who could return again and again.
Find out more about our Mobile SEO Services
As you can see, mobile SEO can contribute greatly to the success of your business. With more and more consumers using their phones rather than a laptop or desktop PC to browse the web and find what they need, optimising your mobile SEO is essential. Hopefully with this in mind, you will be well on your way to creating the kind of mobile SEO that can give any business a great boost.
If you’re looking for a mobile SEO company that can help with your SEO strategy, be sure to get in touch with us and see how we can help maximise your visibility online.