When it comes to search engine optimisation, you must consider not only optimising your content for desktop PCs, laptops and notebooks, but also the increasingly large number of smartphone users. It’s important to bear in mind that not only do these users access the Internet on a different device, they are often doing so for different purposes. That means the optimisation requirements of your web content are also very different. These SEO tips and tricks will help your website achieve a better ranking on mobile device browsers.
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Optimising for mobile users can help you reach people who are ready to buy NOW
Mobile SEO: More Than Just Keywords
No matter how someone accesses the Internet, keywords play an important role in where your website is placed in the results. However, because smartphone users have a smaller keyboard and screen, they tend to use fewer keywords – and that changes the keyword phrases you use to optimise for the mobile web. According to Google, mobile users tend to type, on average, 15 characters for each keyword search.
Mobile Browsers
Another important consideration is that not all mobile devices use Google as a search engine. Many smartphones come with other browsers installed, such as find.Mobi, Taptu and Jumptap. All of those platforms play by their own rules in deciding which websites to show in the search results. Using good, standard SEO practises is the best way to try to please them all.
Location, Location, Location
What is perhaps even more important than keywords is a user’s location. Obviously if a smartphone owner is looking for a service business while on the road, he wants something close by, not in another state – or country! It’s vital to ensure that your website has all the proper geo coding necessary to come up in local searches.
Consider the User Experience
The experience of browsing the web is quite different for mobile users. As previously noted, someone using a smartphone to access the Internet is subject to size and accessibility limitations. But more than that, websites just act different when accessed on a smartphone or other, small mobile device. Pages take longer to load, they take up more room on the screen, and often it’s difficult to click on links. Make sure yours looks and performs well on a small screen as well as a large one.
Categorise Your Website
Because users generally only see about five sites returned in search results (and very rarely ever navigate to page two), it’s more important than ever to ensure your website shows up on page number one. Not only are the results based on the user’s location, they are listed by “search-predictive” category, too. That means meta tags on your site must specifically indicate what services or products your company provides. For instance, if someone searches for eggplant, they could want to find a farmer’s market to purchase vegetables or they could be looking for a restaurant serving Italian food. Those are two different categories and your website needs to appear in the appropriate one in order to rank closer to the top based on relevancy.
Mobile search engine optimisation is really still in its infancy and we are learning more each day about what is required to get a web page to rank high in mobile search results. Start with these tips and tricks and keep an eye on statistics so you know whether or not your efforts are effective for mobile SEO. Need help? Market Ease knows SEO in Adelaide. We can help you succeed at connecting with all kinds of different targeted customers.