Best Practices for Mobile SEO

Mobile Marketing

Over the next five years, the mobile marketing boom will generate a stunning $400 billion return, according to a report by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMB). The generous $139 billion return enjoyed by the mobile marketing ecosystem is set to increase at an annual rate of approximately 52%.

With the number of global smartphone users hitting two billion this year (and six billion by or before 2020), the MMB study not only demonstrates that mobile marketing is a promising economic stimulus and job creator, but also sends a powerful message to companies, small businesses, and entrepreneurs in the online world: It’s time to develop a solid mobile SEO strategy to capture the profits of tomorrow.

While mobile SEO shares many similarities with the existing SEO strategies for desktop browsers, here are some specific tips that will give you an upper hand in the mobile SEO competition:

Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

In 2013 there were 1.4 billion smartphone users, which translates to 1 in 7 people worldwide! This statistic makes optimizing your websites for mobile devices more compelling. Here are a few ways to make your website mobile-friendly:

1.Make your website responsive: a responsive website detects the mobile device and adjusts its layout accordingly. This is a one-size-fits-all strategy that allows you to effectively capture your mobile users.

2.Enable dynamic serving: a slightly more complex strategy with potential technical challenges if you are not computer-savvy. With this setup, the server detects the device and, based on the type of device the visitor is using, loads the appropriate content onto that URL.

3.Have a mobile URL: create a sub-domain for your mobile users. This redirects mobile users to the mobile website, and desktop users to the desktop website.

Content Optimization: Keywords and Key Word Phrases

Like all kinds of internet marketing campaigns, content optimization plays an important role in helping search engine spiders evaluate the relevancy of your content in any given search. While you definitely need keywords and keyword phrases in content optimization, it is important to remember that mobile device screens are dramatically smaller than regular computer or laptop screens. Because the keypads are also smaller, search terms are likely going to be shorter too. Choose keywords that are mobile-user specific and check your content’s length to optimize your mobile user’s experience of your website.

Promote Your Business with Mobile Ads

Mobile ads are known to convert at a relatively high rate. According to thinkwithGoogle, “New research from over 327 studies across a variety of industries and business types show that, on average, 88% of the clicks on mobile search ads are incremental.” Another study reports that 59% of people find mobile ads useful. In fact, when doing mobile search, 55% of purchase-related conversions happen in one hour or less. Kelsey Jones, Managing Editor at Search Engine Journal, observed the powerful fact that 8% of a person’s day is spent looking at a mobile screen, which presents an excellent opportunity for “mobile marketers to find customers who are looking for local services, as well as m-commerce customers who want to make a purchase online through their smartphone or other mobile device.”

Load Speed, Apps, and More

In the mobile marketing world, apps earn a generous download rate of 45%, while 40% of people make a purchase after scanning a QR code. With 1 in 4 online searches conducted via mobile devices, it becomes extremely critical for you to optimize the load speed of your website. After all, studies have found that 57% of mobile users won’t recommend companies with poor mobile websites. This makes improving your website’s mobile-friendliness a major marketing effort, especially when it comes to maintaining a positive image in the minds of your consumers.

No matter how you look at mobile SEO, it is apparent that the mobile market has many opportunities for growth, development, and success. In fact, some sources have predicted that the mobile market will generate $400 billion by 2015 – in the U.S. alone. Simply imagine the impact of this great opportunity, and you will know why embarking on your mobile SEO journey should start today!

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