Acing Mobile SEO in 2019
What will be the trends for Mobile SEO in 2019? Here is a complete and an expert-written step by step guide for Mobile Optimization in 2019.
Mobile search is indeed witnessing explosive growth and it’s high time that search marketers get on the wagon because this opportunity is indeed worth cashing in on. A large number of people are now searching for services and products they want to hire or buy online. This means, businesses now have more ways of generating leads online.
Half a decade back or so, experts deemed the responsive trend as the goldmine and websites that adapted sure found favor with Google.
A while back, Google showed separate results to users depending on what medium they were using. For example, if a searcher tried to look for keywords on Mobile, he will only get websites that were exclusively designed for mobile and if someone looked for queries on the desktop then they will get only websites built and optimized for desktop. But now, Google shows the same results on the desktop as well as other devices like mobile and tablet and considers websites that are mobile-first.
Being mobile-friendly won’t be enough in 2019
A mobile-friendly or responsive website is indeed a priority but not enough to help your business survive. If you really want to ace mobile SEO, you will have to start thinking like your readers and the people who search using their phones.
In fact, experts recommend that website maker and search marketers ensure that the URL of their business website remains m in m.website.com free.
Owing to contemporary technical innovation, more and more people now have access to the Internet and sophisticated technology that lets them stay connected even when they are on the move.
People aren’t always in a hurry but they want results quickly and they want them handy so even commercial searches begin on the mobile phone or the tablet. Key phrases are now becoming shorter and more spot-on so there’s no beating around the bush and searchers get the exact results they are looking for.
Searching on phone
People are now searching for shorter queries and letting Google finish their phrases or keywords. So, you need to brainstorm and make a comprehensive list of keywords that you target to rank your website on Mobile searches (all searches consider responsive results these days). What we mean is that to understand how people are making searches on phone, try assuming the state of your targeted searcher’s state of mind and then begin jotting down the raw ideas you get.
If you are looking for keywords with commercial intent, assume that people are in a hurry and are close to making a sale but the difference is that people will be making more specific and short-tail queries like “converse store near me”.
Search is more location-specific than ever
Now, searches are growing more local and the strange part is that keywords sans near me phrase are becoming even more relevant for local searches. Why so? Because Google is so smart that it accesses your device location and shows you results within your reachable geographical area only. Erstwhile, people would google a phrase like best pizza online and a website from Germany would pop up on the first page of Google. But is the result relevant? Almost a decade back or longer, Google didn’t consider detecting the location of the searcher, however, the search is far more sophisticated now and people can easily find location-relevant information without mentioning their own location explicitly.
For example, if you want to eat an awesome pizza in Manhattan and need some recommendations when your own location is also Manhattan, you won’t have to explicitly mention “Manhattan” in your search query “Best Pizza” or even near me because Google will detect your location.
The technical part
As a search marketer, you simply can’t afford to lose the crawling by Google Bots. However, some websites don’t allow bots to crawl the java and CSS. The best way of making sure that Google is able to deem your page 100% mobile friendly is by letting it do its job and thoroughly crawl the page and the files.
- You can check your blocked resources on Google Index to confirm if your website is getting crawled thoroughly by the Google Bots.
- Get rid of all the popups on your mobile website because Google prioritizes giving users the best experience and not a tasteless cocktail of dull popup ads intruding in the experience that your website promises. If you really want to ace Mobile SEO for your website, make sure that you get rid of the interruptions because when searching on phone, people have less patience and they close the entire tab before even considering closing the popup and proceeding on the website. Moreover, a recent penalty by Google can really harm your website if you continue to abuse the use of popups.
- While keeping your website speed up and running is a priority but make sure that you let your visitors see everything. Displaying your content concisely but without interruptions is crucial to acing Mobile SEO. Don’t hide anything from your readers, give them enough opportunity and space to explore the solution to the search query they made. Keep readability in your mind and optimize the content textually and visually to make it easy for the reader to consume it.
Social Media and Mobile SEO go hand in hand
Social media apps are optimized for maximum consumption on mobile or tablet since the devices are handy and let social media users stay connected even when on the move. Since social media is indeed a fruitful platform for distributing content and garnering leads, search marketers must consider optimizing their content for social media shareability.
Content is indeed the backbone of any SEO Strategy and even for Mobile SEO, content is vital. But before you get down to ensuring a consistent supply of valuable content, make sure that you have your social content distribution portals sorted. Always ensure that your website contains is connected with social media icons so users can easily share your content through their account.
Time you let go of the SEO shortcuts
Cloaking or spam link building or private blog networks aren’t going to do your website any favors and may even get you penalized heavily!
Remember that even for a mobile website and mobile SEO, Google’s bots and readers are going through the same page to keep them consistent. Don’t try to game the system because it may just cost you your entire website and if the penalty is big enough, your website will never recover.
Mobile SEO is a lot like traditional or local SEO but it lets you ace internet marketing for your own website through sophisticated techniques and focusing on user experience.
Visuals are still key
When a searcher visits a website, they have a tough time navigating if they can’t find a vertical menu. Since mobile and tablet screens are shorter than desktops, searchers find it hard to tap on the exact section or the segment. So, when designing the website itself, web developers and designers must also consider user experience and interaction since people run out of patience quite fast on such devices. So, user experience helps your website rank by retaining the engagement of your traffic. A badly designed website that doesn’t attract or retain the attention of the reader will definitely lose the rankings even if your SEO is top-notch.
Moreover, people searching on mobile are more likely to make quick searches and explore only one or two pages. They will hardly move to more inner pages so make sure that you focus on making the main pages more attractive and informative than others.
From mobile to voice search
Artificial Intelligence has been redefining the world for quite some time but search marketers especially need to understand the very natural journey of a searcher from Mobile Search Engines to Voice Search.
People have been using their phones to talk to other people for decades now but they have now started talking to their phone. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the phone now replies and gets you exactly what you are looking for. There are plenty of apps that even let you click pictures of objects or nature or anything else (except human faces) to get general information available without you having to type any keywords or phrases into the search engine.
People are now communicating their queries and issues with their smartphones who are fetching them results. Search Marketers should focus on using this trend to their advantage by focusing on a conversational style keyword strategy and generating content around it.
Summing up
Mobile SEO isn’t a battlefield overrun with the blood of search marketing gurus and new algorithmic updates masquerading as gore and mutilation. It’s basic and extremely simple to implement.
Begin thinking about how people are using their smartphones to reach the solution to their queries and bam, you have the solution.
People are now following a more shorter but conversational style of tone when searching for queries or keyphrases online. You must target these geo-specific keywords based on the long tail and short tail keywords.
Moreover, making certain technical changes to the content presentation and adding social media handles to the website can really help you keep up with the contemporary Mobile SEO Company.
Another big trend in Mobile SEO is Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) which is an open-source project by Google itself. In fact, Google prioritizes websites designed using AMP since they are quicker and load faster.
Author Bio
Nagendra Singh, a well-known name in the SEO Industry, is also a Chief Search Strategist at SEO Corporation, the leading Indian Digital Marketing Agency. Other than being a co-founder, he also heads the Search Strategy, Research, and Execution team the agency. Nagendra Singh is dedicated to helping brands grow their web traffic and derive more revenue-oriented benefits out of it through smart SEO.
