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Mobile SEO: A Crash Course

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Why is mobile SEO important?

The sight of someone peering down at a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device is all too common, but it’s not simply just a fad. Mobile is the new way that information is extracted from the vast landscape of the internet quickly and efficiently. With the rise of users of mobile devices, it is becoming imperative that businesses prepare for the sharp increase in mobile traffic by optimizing for it..

There are many reasons why mobile SEO is important. One of the more obvious reasons, as with traditional SEO, is that visibility on the major search engines is crucial to businesses that participate in ecommerce. Rankings on search engines are important, but what about driving sales? According to Moz and Gartner, total purchases made on mobile devices reached $6.7 billion last year and are projected to reach approximately $31 billion by 2015. Not only have mobile devices become a major first point-of-contact for consumers, but also they have proven to be a reliable sales point as well.

Introduction to mobile SEO and some general tips to start plan a successful mobile campaign.

How to Optimize for a Mobile Site

The YouMoz Blog (the hub of the Moz community) provides a comprehensive list of Google’s new best practices for mobile SEO. Google’s rules are not only a guideline for optimization through Google itself, but may help with optimization across other major search engines as well. Listed below are some major points to consider when starting any mobile SEO campaign:

1. Social media activity drives URL sharing

Consider the fact that smartphone users spend an average of 9 hours and 6 minutes per month on social networks. Being active in the social media realm should be a part of any link-building effort, including mobile and traditional.

2. Make mobile sites convenient and accessible

The whole point of mobile internet access is to browse the web for information wherever you are. Mobile sites must be prepared for this, whether it’s implementing responsive design or have having an entirely different URL for a mobile site so that information can be taken in quickly and conveniently.

3. Focus on local

It is very important to keep the idea of “local results” in mind when starting a mobile SEO campaign. This is especially important when focusing on business and retail searches; the vast majority of higher results will be the closest business or retail outlet to the user’s location.

Key Takeaways

It’s apparent that mobile users have established themselves as key players in ecommerce.As mobile traffic continues to increase it is crucial to target this ever-growing audience. By following Google’s best practices for mobile SEO, your optimization efforts should have positive results. Just like with traditional SEO, mobile SEO will require research, which while tedious, is necessary to increase your visibility. Keep in mind: some of the fundamental factors that result in solid mobile SEO results are implementing the proper URL structure and site design for your audience, being engaged in social media, and focusing on local searches.

Have any questions or concerns regarding mobile or traditional SEO? Please leave a comment below!

3 Considerations to Ensure Desktop UX Doesn’t Take a Back Seat To Mobile

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We live in a world that is increasingly obsessed with touch devices ranging from smartphones and tablets to smart refrigerators. As I write this blog Apple’s Tim Cook is showing off their latest and greatest devices and iteration of iOS at their developer’s conference. It is pretty safe to say that touch devices are not only here to stay, but also account for a sizable chunk of the devices being used to browse the web. But what does this mean for user experience on the web?

Ever since we noticed the first increase in mobile traffic, the analytics industry has had the mobile web experience under a microscope.

The share of sessions on mobile and tablet devices continues to increase month over month.

Insights into mobile usage drove (and continue to drive) organizations to experiment with different strategies, ranging from mobile variations of their sites to full-blown mobile applications. These tactics all led to better user experiences on these smaller devices, with quicker load times, easier navigation, and increased levels of overall convenience.

Even with the increase in visitor share that mobile and tablet devices are demonstrating, it is important to ensure that the user experience for traditional browsing devices (desktops and laptops) is not sacrificed or fall to the wayside. Here’s 3 things to consider when weighing investments for mobile and desktop-friendly web designs:

The desktop environment isn't going anywhere for a long time

Contrary to what Microsoft and Apple are saying, the desktop environment is not dying and will never die off completely. They claim that the sales of tablets are outnumbering those of traditional laptops and desktops. It needs to be understood, however, that these numbers are not apples-to-apples (no pun intended). Touch-based devices have a much shorter useful lifespan before their hardware or software is no longer sufficient. Consumers can’t upgrade them to the level that they did desktops and laptops. A quick $30 investment in RAM for a desktop can increase its useful lifetime by over a year. With tablets, however, manufacturers found a way to eliminate the consumer’s ability to stretch the time between purchases even longer. Now consumers are purchasing new devices sooner.

I own several touch devices, including a tablet. It’s a fantastic device for checking email, basic browsing, and recreational activities. It is not as great for productivity, however. Though it is definitely better than working from a smartphone, the level of productivity from a tablet cannot match that of a desktop environment. That is why most offices and computer labs at universities will not shift most of their technology over to touch. That is also why the desktop user experience should not be ignored when it comes to web design.

Mobile vs. non-mobile ratios may differ between target audiences

The ratio of mobile vs. non-mobile devices used to interact with a website may differ between target audiences and even different segments within each audience. There is an obvious need for mobile solutions for financial service institutions that offer conveniences like mobile banking. But this need might not justify the cost for other industries.

Does a mobile app or site help accomplish your business goals?

This is single-handedly one of the most important questions to ask when determining how to approach the mobile experience. All too often we see organizations that invest so much in a mobile application or website and come to find that they do not actually serve to drive business in any significant way. Just like any other business investment, it is important to weigh it against what the organization is trying to accomplish and see how much it helps to get it there.

Before I wrap this up, I want to provide some clarification: Touch-based devices are here to stay and their usage is increasing with each month that goes by. I am not advocating that mobile should be overlooked anymore than the desktop user experience should. Both are extremely important for the long-term. Responsive web design has also helped to solve the gap that exists between the mobile and desktop experience. It is just a matter of the level of importance depending upon your organization, audience, and business goals. I’m a huge advocate of doing research and assessing situations before jumping into them.

Recognize some interesting patterns with mobile vs. desktop web designs in your industry? Share them here in the comments!

Making a Smooth Transition to Mobile PPC

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If you are running Pay per Click ads using Google AdWords, you’ll need to be ready for your ads to start showing up on smartphones. Once yourLegacy Campaigns are upgraded to the Enhanced Campaigns, your ads will begin showing on mobile. Before this happens though, there are a few things that you can do to prepare.

Targeting Devices (or not)

First off, if you absolutely do not want to be advertising on mobile at all, there is a way to do so within Enhanced Campaigns. The Bid Adjustment feature allows you to target specific devices. By setting your bid adjustment to -100% for mobile devices, you will prevent your ads from being shown on phones. But with the noticeable rise in smartphone use, are you sure that is the best marketing decision?

Mobile-Optimized Ads

Another option is to prepare our ads accordingly. A great way to do this is to utilize the Call Extension. Although this extension can be used to target all devices, it is best suited for targeting mobile users. This extension will allow searchers on mobile devices to not only find you, but connect with you via a phone call with a single click. Another additional feature that comes with this Enhanced Campaigns extension is day parting. This means that the call functionality can be set to coincide with your business’s operating hours. On top of all that functionality, Google has also dropped the additional charge that formerly came with using a Google forwarding number.

Using the steps above, you can make sure that your PPC account is ready for the Enhanced Campaigns upgrade. These new features and extensions allow you to reach new customers no matter what device they’re using!

We’d love to hear which aspects of AdWords Enhanced Campaigns you’re using to improve your PPC ads. Let us know in the comments below!

The 5 W’s of Mobile Advertising

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It’s safe to say that the “Mobile Marketing Revolution” is in full swing. To offer a bit of perspective, think about this: Mobile web usage is expected to surpass traditional Desktop Internet browsing by 2015. It’s clear–smartphones and tablets are on the fast-track to ubiquity, and a lot more marketers are starting to catch on and make moves. This week, we’re going to break down Mobile Advertising into its most basic elements.

Here’s the Who, What, When, Where, & Why of Mobile Advertising (your High School English teachers would be so proud!).

Who?

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but there’s nothing wrong with bringing in a little context. In just two years, 40% of American consumers will have a smartphone. That’s a big portion of the market, and that means that advertisers will have to take these devices into account when forming their latest and greatest marketing campaigns. Another thing to consider is the way consumers are using their devices. Now more than ever, mobile devices are becoming the go-to platform for eCommerce, managing finances, performing brand research, and more.

What?

When it comes to mobile advertising, there are many options that marketers will have to consider. Some big ones include mobile-optimized content, mobile-friendly websites, mobile application development, QR Codes, as well as the mobile paid search environment. It’s a lot to wrap one’s head around, and it’ll require research for those marketing teams that are planning to make the mobile transition soon. The numbers don’t lie though–Mobile Ad Spend in the US is projected to reach nearly $4 Billion by the end of this year.

When?

Studies and research have completely agreed on the rise of mobile devices in the future. Consumers are expected to devote more time to using mobile devices, spend more money on mobile apps, and complete more tasks and activities on the small screen. As devices and consumer behavior evolves, marketing teams will have to keep an eye on the trends, capitalize on what they can right now, and prepare for the advances the future will bring.

Where?

Where are these users spending their time? The era of using a smartphone just to check email is over. As these devices have become more sophisticated, average users have become far more comfortable using their smartphones and tablets to complete everyday tasks that were once confined to a Desktop. Shopping, doing research, connecting via Social Media, banking, searching, using brand-specific apps, and playing games–all of these offer big opportunities for a business to gain reach & visibility. Put simply, industry-specific possibilities abound for the mobile arena.

Why?

Time for the most important question of all: Is mobile marketing really worth it? Will it live up to the hype? Time will certainly tell, but the current data is hard to ignore. Mobile devices are fast-becoming the latest communication medium, both from a personal and business perspective. When it comes down to it, successful marketing starts with target audience’s behavior and values, and ends with creating a unique marketing message to match. Mobile devices are poised to be the most effective way to get the word out, and advertisers have begun their plans to explore this new technological frontier.

Have a burning question about your approach to Mobile Advertising? Leave us a comment below!

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Mobile Accessibility of Your Website

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One of the most common mistakes made in the web and e-commerce worlds is the dismissal of the importance of mobile accessible websites. Mobile activity on the web is increasing exponentially every day as more and more consumers trade their laptops and desktops for smartphones and tablets. Society wants to be mobile and less constricted by the ball-and-chain of cables and cords, yet there are still countless websites that fail to accommodate for this properly.

So what excuse is there NOT to optimize your website for mobile visitors? Web Analytics data and reports have proven this traffic has been increasing hand-over-fist every day. Further analysis even indicates these visitors are trying to access what they need and engage with the website (multiple pages viewed per visit), however they tend to leave before they actually convert. A glance to the average amount of time that they spend on the website compared to normal traffic provides a clear picture of just how much trouble they’re having. If the time they spend is significantly more, it means they’re finding the use of the website difficult or perhaps load times are taking a lot longer than they should because of large images.

More often than not, however, the decision makers will not make a move on a mobile solution based upon website performance metrics alone. That’s when you take a look at the market statistics and demographics. The visual below (from the article located here) shows the breakdown of tablet users according to their social status as well as which age groups they are from. Keep in mind, the visual above is only covering the tablet users, which is only a segment of the total mobile visitors out there. Even more people have smartphones than tablet devices. The performance metrics are there. The demographical data is there. Don’t ignore the writing on the walls! Optimize your website for mobile!