Optimizing Your Business Website for Mobile
There’s not one corner you can turn to see people without their mobile devices. In fact, it is becoming clear that people spend more time on their smartphones than laptops or desktops, as this is evidenced by applications and games that were normally just available on personal computers. Now anyone can send emails and write their reports while on-the-go.
Moreover, business owners with e-Commerce sites is a shift that we need to take advantage of. Luckily, there are SEO practices designed solely for mobile that we can start with before crafting our own strategies. In this article, we will talk about what Google means by “mobile adaptiveness” and tips on how to fully optimize our website for mobile.
Mobile SEO best practices
Much of a website’s mobile adaptiveness is based on how it is designed. If your content is already optimized with keywords and backlinks, the next thing you should be thinking about is site design.
Separate URL for mobile
A mobile version of your website requires a separate URL. Do not worry though, because the domain name is not too different. There will only be an “m” subdomain preceding your domain name, and a user who will access your website on their phone will be redirected to this subdomain.
Avoid using Flash
While Flash looks good on desktop, it is not readily available to view on mobile. Consider avoiding the use of Flash, and use HTML5 instead to create special graphics.
Do not use pop-ups
If you want people to sign up for your website or if you have a promo you want to highlight, do not use pop-ups for it. It will frustrate your users and increase bounce rates. You want to encourage consumers to purchase a product or a service on your site, and you want them to subscribe. What you do not want is to lose an audience because of a pop-up.
Consider building your website mobile first
A designer will start creating your website with the mobile user in mind first, before creating the desktop version. This will allow you and the designer to create a cleaner, and much more mobile user-friendly website. For other designers, their only problem is that the website may look simpler, but that does not exactly mean you cannot make it look modern.
Test your touch screen navigation and text size
Before you finalize your mobile design, test to see if the touch screen navigation is friendly for all types of users. Remember that there are some people with fingers prone to accidental clicks, while there are some who simply cannot read a small text.
Make a personalized mobile experience
You can do this by asking permission if you can access their GPS so you know if they are in your local area. This way, you can offer coupons if they are local or discounted shipping if they are not. In a study referenced by Neil Patel, he says 75% of mobile shoppers have used a mobile coupon and 50% would willingly download shopping applications to get a discount. So make sure you can take advantage of that demographic and push announcements and rewards that are relevant to them.
Google’s helpful guidelines on mobile adaptive websites
Mobile has become so popular among users. It was called a “Mobilegeddon” two years ago when Google changed their search algorithm to favor websites that are mobile responsive. Website owners were anxious because the announcement came with a promise that mobile adaptive websites will experience a significant boost in their rankings.
To find out if your website is mobile-friendly, here are some of Google’s guidelines:
- Websites built using templates from a content management software like Joomla or WordPress may not be mobile responsive. You can check out Google’s guide to customizing your website software.
- If you are not using pre-designed templates from a content management software, ask your web developer to go through Google’s checklist about what to keep in mind when developing the website.
- If you do not need to hire a developer and are planning to create the website yourself, go over the Mobile SEO Guide.
- When everything is done, test your website on this Mobile Friendly Test.
We hope you enjoyed the above post in cooperation with Socialnomics!
