SEO for mobile-optimized websites. Two figures make you think: mobile searches have long since surpassed desktop searches, and the average conversion rate for mobile has exceeded desktop searches by 64%, according to Formstack. These new user behaviors make it necessary to design SEO actions for mobile-optimized sites, especially after the Mobile-First Index announced by Google.
Why optimize the design of a mobile site from an SEO perspective?
The objective of actions concerning the design and usability of a mobile site is to improve the visibility of the site and the involvement of users, thus increasing conversions and ROI. Realizing the design of a site oriented also, or completely, to the fruition from tablets and smartphones has long been suggested by Google, which already presents two different SERPs, one showing the results for desktop searches and the other visible to those who use mobile phones and tablets. It is therefore to be expected that sites not optimized for navigation from mobile devices will be penalized to some extent, at least on the SERP from mobile.
Is it possible to design mobile websites optimized for SEO?
An SEO-friendly mobile site requires attention to a number of factors, among which it is essential to evaluate:
Mobile loading speed and SEO
Those who surf from mobile generally have no time to waste on the web, and benefit from services offered by mobile phone operators or wi-fi connections, faster and faster. Running into a slow loading page affects the user experience, which generally leaves the site to open the next one in SERP. Work needs to be done on the loading speed factor for web design and SEO professionals. It is a question of evaluating whether to use Content Delivery Network services, or CDN, to optimize Javascript and CSS code and compress images and videos, also limiting redirections. Also the use of cache for static resources, such as logos for example, allows to speed up navigation.
After all, when you navigate from your mobile phone, every byte counts. We all search for speed, also not to consume too much Gb available. The faster the experience, the more conversions and user satisfaction will be.
Beware of Pop-Up
Recent updates of Google’s algorithms penalize the use of Pop-Up windows, especially with regard to mobile sites. The size of a smartphone’s display does not allow you to design pages that present disturbing elements, which negatively affect the User Experience. Nobody likes to read on their mobile device’s content covered by invasive pop-ups, for example on the news sites of online newspapers, which have a negative effect not only on UX but also on SEO.
Web Design for Mobile
When designing a mobile site, you should consider that the content is used by a touch screen display. So the web designer must design for the fingers. In fact, the size of the fingers must be taken into account with regard to the UX, both for the thumb and index finger, because the size of the fingers of a Norwegian sailor are different from those of a Japanese teenager. A responsive or specifically designed furniture design must take into account the size of menus and clickable items. A few tests will help to optimise the size of links and menus, the latter generally more essential than those of a desktop website.
SEO of titles and meta descriptions for mobile sites
An SEO professional knows the importance of editing titles and meta descriptions through the use of keywords. But what happens with mobile SEO? Since last May Google has increased the length of the titles of the pages consulted by mobile phones and tablets, bringing them to 78 characters, eight more than those recommended for desktops. It seems an advantage, however, it is clear that a short title does not run the risk of being truncated on the mobile phone display. Also for the meta description, the length of the mobile phone by Google is 130 characters, but more synthetic descriptions will respond better to navigation with each display size.
Mobile SEO and optimization for local and voice search
A mobile site is mainly consulted by mobile phones, with small screens. In this case, there is less attention on the part of the user compared to the content and the need to have the requested information with the maximum speed. Optimized pages will therefore be needed in response to these needs. It is also useful to work on local research: in fact, it is very likely that searches from mobile will concern information on places or companies and contact methods. This need must be met, perhaps by offering a click to call on the home page. Voice search is one of the options widely used by mobile devices. The content must therefore be optimized for long-tail queries and phrases that recall conversational queries, with the classic “how”, “where” or “when”.
Short Content and Direct Call To Action
Also in mobile sites, on-page SEO must concern the optimization of all elements involving the user. A site specifically designed for mobile must offer short content, because reading long articles from a display of a few inches is not pleasant, and CTA immediate, offering immediate opportunities to contact the company, to book services, etc.. Finally, it is also advisable that the contact and booking forms are also optimized for mobile, for example using HTML5, which shows a keyboard optimized for the various mobile devices.
In ByTek Marketing there are professionals able to design the web presence optimized for mobile through web design, SEO for mobile and Content Curation skills related to texts and multimedia content.
