The ability to appear higher in online search engine results without spending any money is another definition of SEO. In SEO, you modify your content according to search engine algorithms to grab more users’ attention and increase your website’s traffic from mobile and desktop. This blog is all about mobile SEO and the optimisation techniques of that mobile SEO.
What Is Mobile SEO?
Mobile SEO is your website’s search engine optmization process for mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Many of the same desktop SEO best practices are necessary. However, more people than ever before are using mobile devices for searching.
Therefore, it would be best if you prioritised the mobile experience. This entails mobile-friendly site design, content, and other improvements. Optimising for mobile SEO versus desktop SEO might change your target keywords.
The Importance of Mobile SEO
Today, mobile devices account for over 60% of visits from organic searches. Desktop searches are declining even as mobile searches are increasing,
Additionally, according to Google, 56% of in-store customers used their smartphones to conduct product research while in a store in the previous week.
So even if your company receives a lot of foot traffic, paying attention to mobile SEO will still cost you money.
How Mobile SEO differs from other SEO
Many of the same SEO best practices that apply to desktop optimisation also apply to mobile optimisation. However, mobile search results are much more unpredictable because they are affected by different variables than desktop searches.
What content receives a top ranking is influenced by factors like page organisation, user location, operating system, screen size, and more. Because of how these factors interact, different devices have different search engine crawling, indexing, and ranking procedures.
A framework for success on any device is offered by mobile SEO. But first, it’s crucial to understand how the differences between desktop and mobile affect search results.
Mobile first Indexing
Google prioritises indexing for mobile. In other words, it primarily uses the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking. In 2019, it became the standard. Google, therefore, gives the mobile version of your site priority whenever it indexes and ranks your content.
It should be noted that there are no distinct mobile and desktop indexes. The only one is. Mobile is also given priority. But whether users use a desktop or a mobile device, Google will still display the website that best suits their needs in search results.
If you still need to, it’s best to cover all your bases and optimise your website for mobile users.
Tips and Techniques to Optimize Your Mobile SEO
There are three main techniques you have to adapt for your website to mobile devices are
- Responsive Design
- Separate URLs
- Dynamic Serving
Let’s look at those techniques in a detailed format.
Responsive Design
Responsive design can serve the same page to desktop and mobile users.
The best responsive design is one that,
- Allows users to link to your content and share pages using a single URL rather than a separate “mobile” URL
- Decreases the likelihood of common errors that impact mobile sites
- It is quicker to maintain than alternative methods.
- Does not require users to have a device to redirect
- View optimised (which can reduce load time)
- Saving resources because Googlebot will only crawl the page once rather than several times when crawling your website
That is why responsive design is good as the best SEO practice.
You won’t have to deal with duplicate content problems or redirects that can slow down your site if you use responsive design. An individual responsive page can be made in its place for every piece of content.
You’ll save a tonne of time by doing this.
Additionally, you won’t need to worry about responsive pages’ design. The layout will always change to accommodate various devices. It benefits mobile SEO in both ways.
Friendly finger usage
Mobile searchers want quick, easy access to the information they need. They typically use their thumbs to scroll through pages instead of zooming in to read small print or view small images. Therefore, it would be best if you made it simple for them to click on your content.
Load Time
Increasing your website’s speed is the best way to create an ideal user experience. Simply put, one of the most important factors for mobile SEO is the speed of your website. You can expand user access and prolong their stay on the website.
The Google Mobile Speed Test is an excellent tool for identifying any potential speed issues with your website. Simply type a website’s URL into the box to get started.
Voice Search
In today’s world, Mobile SEO also relies on voice search on mobile devices. However, most website owners still refuse to include voice search functionality on their websites. So, if you think about using voice search, you can have an absolute competitive edge over others in your industry.
Search Bar
Search Bar Information on your website pages should be simple for users to find and access. Visitors will leave your website if it needs a search bar or if it is difficult to use the one you have.
Separate URLs
The final option is setting up different URLs for your desktop and mobile sites. As a result, you will have two URLs for your website, one for the desktop and one for the mobile version.
The desktop URL resembles standard URLs: https://www.your.site.com/
While the mobile version typically substitutes an “m” or the word mobile for a portion of the URL:https://m.your.site.com/
Depending on the visitor’s device, the server will direct them to your site’s desktop or mobile version when they visit it.
This solution’s drawback is that it can take time to manage.
Additionally, since each page has two variations, you’ll need to add rel=”canonical” or rel=”alternate” tags to their HTML codes. This informs Google which version of each page is the main one.
Set a rel=”canonical” tag pointing to the desktop version on mobile pages.
Set a rel=”alternate” tag on desktop pages to direct users to the mobile version.
Dynamic Design
Different HTML is displayed based on the user’s device when using the dynamic serving method. However, the URL stays the same. The content basically has a single URL. However, the server gives each device a unique piece of code.
On the other hand, Google favours responsive design over dynamic serving.
Why because,
Sites that use dynamic serving may display users an incorrect page version. Servers may thus unintentionally display a desktop version to a smartphone user, which might be annoying and harm the user experience.
Conclusion
More people than desktop computers use mobile devices, and this number is proliferating. Global mobility is increasing. Because of this, mobile-friendly websites are becoming more and more crucial as time goes on. Website owners are under pressure to optimise their sites for all mobile devices due to increased competition in search results.
