Is Your Mobile Site SEO Optimized?
Consider these best practices to kick start your mobile SEO efforts.
Consider these best practices to kick start your mobile SEO efforts.
Mobile growth in Asia Pacific is on the rise. You may have a mobile site but is it SEO optimized or just SEO compliant? There’s a huge difference. If you have not been thinking about mobile SEO, you may lose an opportunity. Nowadays, people are glued to their mobile phone doing everything from browsing the Internet, reading the news, making reservations, looking at product information and offers. Mobile has even become an extension of in-store experiences.
Searching for keywords on desktops and mobile phones can mean different things for the same search term. For example, when typing the keyword “Sunday brunch” on a desktop, the user may find the restaurants that offer Sunday brunch, as well as the prices and restaurant reviews. When searching for the same on a mobile phone, they may want to get directions or call the restaurant for availability. If your mobile site is not SEO friendly, you leave the gate open for your competition to reap the benefits.
Here are a few best practices to help kick start your mobile SEO efforts:
1. Limit page load times. Look for the number of images on the pages. Also the size of the JavaScript. Reduce page load time by combing external JavaScript and optimizing all your images. Check out tools to optimize page load time such as Google Webmaster Tools and Firebug.
2. Use mobile specific keywords. Consumers search differently on mobile devices than on a desktop. Figure out your clients’ goals, and use tools to target them. Do keywords research by using Google Keyword Tool. It offers options to filter by mobile WAP devices, all mobile devices, and mobile devices with full Internet browsers.
3. Optimize content. The mobile site’s content should be simple and straightforward. Remember that Flash and frames are barriers to a mobile user. Mobile content should be quickly and easily accessible. Lastly, there should be an option to click back to the desktop site for additional content that may not be offered on your mobile page. Content optimization is very similar to desktop SEO optimization.
Just like SEO for desktops, title tags for your mobile pages need to be kept short.
4. Optimize images.
Start taking steps to optimize your mobile page. There are lots of information on the Internet, experts in the space, and agencies to help you implement these SEO best practices. It’s very important to make sure your mobile site is SEO Optimized and not just SEO compliant. For the record, President Obama is enforcing Optimized Web Content for the Mobile. “It’s about Time. It’s about Change.”
Home page photo from Shutterstock.