Our cell phones are everything to us nowadays! They’ve become far more than a device for distant communication. We use them to shop online, join online courses, search about different topics, find locations, etc. In other words, they are an extension of us. So, it is no surprise that mobile SEO optimization is a necessity for any website that wants to shine through.
In this simple guide, we will uncover the essential techniques you need to know for mobile search engine optimization of your website. From design and UX to accelerated mobile pages SEO and mobile-specific keywords.
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Mobile SEO Optimization: Everything You Must Know
Optimizing your website for mobile SEO is necessary for two main reasons:
- A large number of people use mobile devices to search on the Internet and visit websites. So, if your website is not optimized for mobile SEO, it can’t rank well in mobile search results. As a result, you will lose a big portion of potential leads.
- Mobile-first indexing. The mobile version of websites is generally used for indexing and ranking by Google and other search engines. According to Google mobile SEO, mobile-friendliness is a big ranking factor. Therefore, as it affects the website’s desktop search results if it’s not optimized for mobile devices, the overall search engine visibility and ranking will be damaged.
So, mobile SEO optimization helps you reach a larger audience, which means more organic traffic and customers.
Now, to start our discussion of search engine optimization for mobile, let’s first go over some common problems websites have when opened on mobile devices. Then, we’ll talk about some strategies to deal with these problems and improve your website mobile optimization.
Common Problems of Websites on Mobile Devices
Mobile users usually complain about the problems below when visiting a website.
- A non-responsive design can be the worst problem because the website doesn’t adapt to different screen sizes.
- It takes a long time for the website to load.
- The text font or color makes it difficult to read the content.
- Images can’t be seen on mobile screens easily.
- Navigation menus are cluttered.
- It is difficult for users to find what they are looking for.
- There are a lot of accidental taps because the links and buttons are not large enough and they are placed too close to each other.
- Pop-ups and interstitials that cover the whole screen are annoying, especially the ones that users don’t know how to dismiss.
- Users can’t interact with some parts of the website because of Flash elements that are not supported on many devices.
- It’s a big challenge to fill in the forms and read the tables.
These problems cause numerous mobile users to get confused and frustrated and leave your website quickly (high bounce rates). To avoid them, keep the following mobile SEO practices in mind.
SEO for Mobile Phones: Essential Strategies and Techniques
To deal with the common mobile site optimization mistakes above, you should pay attention to different aspects of mobile SEO.
Make Sure the Design Is Mobile-Friendly
The design of your website must be responsive to be able to adapt to different screen sizes and orientations (portrait and landscape) on smartphones, tablets, and desktops. It should also be easy to navigate and access content easily.
So, a mobile-friendly design is achieved by using
- fluid layouts,
- flexible and responsive images and media elements,
- mobile-friendly navigation,
- and scalable fonts.
For example, in the picture above you can see the difference between the desktop and mobile design of our homepage. Pay attention to the navbar. To make the navigation simpler and save space, we have used a mobile-friendly hamburger menu and hid the phone number.
You can also see how the banner image is optimized to resize and adapt to the smartphone screens. Specifying image dimensions is necessary to make them more adaptable and resize properly.
In addition, the use of scalable fonts has allowed a smooth font resize. The text must remain visually appealing and easily readable on any screen size.
AMP Mobile SEO
Accelerated mobile pages SEO, or AMP SEO, is an open-source framework to improve the performance of mobile web pages. It mainly includes mobile page speed optimization and mobile user experience optimization.
To optimize a site for mobile, you have to ensure lightning-fast loading times of your website pages. You can meet mobile users’ expectations by
- compressing images and using modern formats, like WebP,
- using lazy loading techniques for images and other media (the page loads as the user scrolls down),
- leveraging browser caching,
- minimizing file sizes and minifying code,
- and reducing server response time.
To reduce bounce rates and improve engagement, you should focus on creating a good and positive mobile user experience (UX). An intuitive experience can be achieved by
- having fast-loading pages,
- responsive design,
- simplifying navigation,
- optimizing tap targets (links and buttons),
- clear and easy-to-read content,
- easy-to-complete and simple forms,
- and mobile-friendly pop-ups.
Mobile-Specific Keywords and Mobile-Optimized Content
Mobile users may use specific keywords that are more useful in mobile searches. For example, they can be more location-based. So, you should consider conducting mobile-specific keyword research and identifying mobile users’ intent.
To make sure the content is also optimized for mobile search engine marketing, incorporate the mobile keywords in concise, valuable, and engaging content. You should also consider voice search optimization and include natural language used in voice searches.
Additionally, mobile-optimized content
- is legible and easy to read,
- contains short paragraphs and bullet points,
- is divided into different sections by subheadings,
- and contains clear, visible, and touch-friendly call-to-actions (CTAs).
As an example of readable content, consider the websites below. In the left picture below, you can see a table that can’t be read on mobile devices because the content is not optimized properly for smaller screens. So, only the first two columns are visible for mobile users using portrait orientation.
But the website on the right shows the table fully which means better user experience and higher engagement.
Mobile Search Optimization
In addition to the above-mentioned mobile SEO optimization techniques, to enhance your website’s appearance and visibility in mobile search results, consider the following practices.
- Local SEO: Mobile users often use search engines to find nearby businesses and services. So, optimizing your website for localized keywords and locations helps you attract relevant and highly targeted traffic. Mobile SEO also includes an optimized Google My Business (GMB) profile. You should also make sure that important information, such as Name, Address, and Phone (NAP), is consistent and correct.
- Mobile XML sitemap: Search engines use the mobile-specific XML sitemap of your website to understand its organization and structure. This enhances the visibility and indexation of the mobile version of your site.
- Structured data markup: If you use Schema.org markup to provide more information for the search engines about your page’s content, such as product/service details, you can see a rise in your website’s visibility. This optimizes your website for Google search engine results pages (SERPs) mobile-specific features, like rich snippets and knowledge panels.
- Mobile crawling and indexing: Make sure the mobile version of your site is easily accessible to search engine bots, and that there are no faulty redirects and blocked resources. This leads to an effective crawling and indexing of your mobile-friendly website by search engine bots.
Monitoring and Testing the Mobile Version of Your Website
You should constantly test and monitor the performance of your website on mobile devices. Try to find compatibility issues and fix them immediately.
Also, use Google Analytics to find out and analyze mobile users’ behavior on your website, conversion rates, mobile traffic, etc. Such insights can help you improve your mobile SEO optimization strategies.
Overall, all these mobile SEO practices improve your website’s visibility not only on mobile devices but also on desktops. This means better ranks and appearance on search results pages, more organic traffic, lower bounce rates, and higher conversion rates.
FAQs about Mobile SEO Optimization
Now, it’s time for our experienced optimizers to answer some of your most common questions about mobile and SEO.
How Mobile Site SEO Is Different from Desktop SEO?
Basically, the purpose of desktop SEO is to optimize the website for desktop/laptop users, while mobile SEO practices are used to optimize it for users on smartphones and tablets.
The table below summarizes the main differences between mobile and desktop SEO optimization strategies.
| Mobile SEO | Desktop SEO | |
| Responsive Design | Responsiveness is highly important to adapt to smaller screens. | It is optimized for larger screens that do not usually require the same level of design responsiveness. |
| Page Speed | Mobile users need faster loading pages because both the Internet connection and processing power on mobile devices are slower. | Page speed optimization is necessary to enhance the overall performance of the website. |
| User Experience | Mobile users have smaller screens, interact by touch, and prefer simple navigation and on-the-go browsing. | Desktop users use a mouse to interact and have larger screens. |
| Local SEO | Local optimization, GMB, and accurate and easy-to-access NAP information are more important for mobile users as they often search for businesses/services on mobile devices. | It is important to attract targeted traffic and leads. |
| Keywords | Mobile-specific keywords, such as location keywords, informal language long-tail phrases, and keywords optimized for voice search queries are more important. | Incorporating any high-traffic keyword is crucial for content optimization and better ranks in search results pages. |
Does My Website Mobile Ranking Affect Its Desktop Ranking?
Yes. At least indirectly mobile SEO optimization affects your site’s desktop ranking because most search engines, like Google, use mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor for both desktop and mobile search results. Besides, if you can engage more and more mobile users, your website’s overall visibility and ranking will improve.
What Tools Can I Use to Test My Website’s Mobile-Friendliness?
- Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to test the site’s mobile compatibility.
- Google Search Console for the site’s mobile usability.
- PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix to test its speed and performance.
- AMP Project helps to create mobile-friendly pages with fast loading times.
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Mobile Checker assesses your website for mobile compliance and provides insights to improve mobile SEO optimization.
What Is AMP Pages SEO?
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. It is an initiative that helps you create mobile-friendly fast-loading pages. Plus, the AMP framework emphasizes mobile user experience. As a result, you can improve the visibility and performance of the mobile version of your website by implementing AMP.
Do You Need Help with Mobile SEO?
We have tried to provide the necessary information you need to start optimizing your website for mobile devices. If you are not an SEO professional, mobile SEO optimization can get a bit tricky.
However, you can count on us for a mobile SEO service, among our other services. At Top Organic Leads, we help website owners attract more leads and boost their business without risking losing money on marketing. With our pay-per-lead SEO, you get the leads first, then pay.
Read our ‘Local Lead Generation SEO’ or call (971) 248-0953 for more information.
