Internet marketing experts used to say that the mobile web will be bigger than desktop one in 2015.
And the prediction is correct: mobile web rocks.
So what does this fact means for your business and how can you take advantage of it? If you haven’t thought about it, it’s time to. Most recent study has revealed that by March 2015 the number of mobile-only adult Internet users exceeded the number of desktop-only internet users (which explains why Google thought it’s smart to update its search algorithm to favor mobile-friendly sites in search).
The news triggered the trend of “mobilegeddon,” “mobilepocalyse,” “mopocalypse” or “mobocalypse”. Of course, just because Google carries out an update does not necessarily mean that we have to bend to its will. Yet if you want a snowball’s chance at appearing in Google search, you’ve got to get on board with one of these mobile-friendly choices:
- Responsive Web Design (RWD). Google’s preferred option resizes existing site components based on the device calling on the code. This can make it slow if not optimised well.
- Adaptive Web Design (AWD). SitePoint explains that AWD works by, “making decisions on the server that determine what should and shouldn’t be sent to the user, so that nothing is sent that will not be used.” This makes it faster than RWD. But it does mean more coding.
- M.dot or dedicated mobile site. This is a separate website optimised specifically for mobile – which is great. Except it leaves you with two sites to manage. Some predict m.dot is on its way out of vogue.
Each of these options has its own pros and cons, so you’ve got to weigh them for your business and see which makes sense for you. Just know that you can’t afford to do NOTHING any longer. The difference now is you need to focus specifically on mobile factors. Here are some you may not have thought of:
- Redirecting mobile traffic to your mobile website. Though you had a mobile-friendly website, the lack of an automatic redirect will hurt your mobile appearance really, really bad. As a result of this significant oversite, Google deemed the website as “Not Mobile Friendly”, pushing it down the mobile search pages.
- Optimising your user experience. Google is using more UX-related factors in search rankings generally, and a good user experience is perhaps even more vital for mobile sites, given smaller screen sizes and variable mobile internet signals.
- Local search. This is a big aspect, as 92% of consumers (and still growing) used the internet to find a local business in 2014. A recent Google report noted that Google searches containing ‘near me’ have increased 34 times since 2011.
- Bounce rate. Not everyone in SEO agrees bounce rate matters, but it may be a way of Google to use their users as quality testers (pages where people quickly bounce is probably not very good).
- Compare mobile keywords to desktop. That’s it. Try to see how you rank for each area and then you can decide “which content to optimise to maximise your traffic.”
Certainly, Google itself offers tips for getting you the rankings you want. When there are even more ranking factors in Google’s sleeve, some of them are really insignificant. Google never take a rest, yet until they announce their next update, do what you can to keep your website at the top position of the mobile battlefield.