As mobile technology advances, consumers increasingly turn to devices like smartphones and tablets to manage their searches for products and services. As of 2021, mobile devices have accounted for an estimated 63% of organic search engine visits. That’s a dramatic jump from the mere 28% of organic search engine visits mobile devices commanded when they first came on the scene over a decade ago. Google has implemented mobile-first indexing, which means its algorithms are looking at content from your mobile website over your desktop version to index and rank your pages in search engine results pages (SERPs). While optimizing a website’s desktop version is still essential, businesses need to implement search engine optimization (SEO) marketing strategies for the mobile version of their sites to increase brand visibility and stay ahead of the competition.
What is Mobile SEO?
A decade ago, mobile SEO was essentially non-existent. Mobile phones simply weren’t very good at web browsing and didn’t have the processing power to build their own websites. Instead, they were forced to use a watered-down version of the desktop experience, typically preloaded with text links and images only.
Mobile SEO is the practice of optimizing a website to rank well in search engines on mobile devices. Why does it matter? Because even though you may have a great website that ranks well for desktop searches, if your mobile site isn’t optimized, then users won’t find you when they’re searching from their phones.
Why is Mobile SEO Important?
Mobile SEO is important because consumer use of mobile searches is skyrocketing. Even though they still engage with products and services through a business’s desktop version, mobile and desktop are different. It’s all about user experience. With consumers constantly on the go, the advanced technology of mobile devices makes it extremely convenient to access unlimited resources when it comes to addressing their wants and needs. You want to optimize your website for mobile use to create a seamless, positive user experience (UX) for consumers.
With mobile SEO, visitors will engage with your brand more easily, which can account for higher conversion rates and increased sales.
4 Key Differences Between SEO for Mobile vs Desktop
Mobile SEO differs from desktop SEO in several ways. The most important thing to remember is that mobile devices have a much smaller screen than desktops. This means you need to use shorter paragraphs and sentences to ensure your content is easy to read. You can also take advantage of the fact that most people will access your site on their phones by making it easy for them to find what they want quickly.
If you’re on a desktop computer, you may be used to having a lot of space for your keywords in your meta tags and ad copy—but this won’t necessarily work for mobile users. Instead, focus on writing effective copy. Also, make sure your site loads quickly on mobile devices so users don’t get frustrated trying to read or interact with it.
Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
The biggest difference between mobile SEO vs desktop SEO is the layout in SERPs. With smaller screens than desktops, Google search engine displays don’t have enough room or the same amount of columns as a desktop. When results come up on a mobile device, results on the right side will stack below or above the ones on the left. Also, fewer results will present themselves on the first page of SERPs.
User Experience
A user-friendly experience is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. Whether it’s a mobile or desktop version, If users have difficulty interacting with your site, they’ll give up and try one of your competitors. On mobile, you have less space to work with and can’t use as much content on your page. This means that you’ll have to be more strategic about what content goes where so that it doesn’t overwhelm visitors or force them to leave your site before they find what they’re looking for.
From smartphones to tablets, a large number of consumers are shopping on the go. So much so that they’re more likely to search on their phones than on desktops, so it’s important to optimize your site for both devices—and ideally create separate versions of each page, such as one optimized for mobile devices and one optimized for desktops.
Location
Consumers tend to utilize mobile devices to look up local businesses, events, and news more frequently than with desktop computers, meaning these types of searches will drive more organic traffic. It’s all about real-time convenience. For instance, consumers can walk through a city neighborhood looking for ice cream and may add “best ice cream in Greenwich Village” to a search engine on their smartphone. Again, it’s all about immediacy and convenience when it comes to satisfying a search engine query for a consumer.
Click-through Rate
SEO for mobile vs desktop can have a big impact on the click-through rate (CTR). For mobile, click-through rates don’t drop as much as they do on desktops. Because there are fewer listings presented in an initial search on a mobile device, users may find it easier to look at them. Mobile SEO can be a more visual landscape than desktop SEO. Results on mobile may simply have more appealing photos for viewers, which means they’ll click through more.
Desktops have a wider, landscape-style presentation, which allows for more search results to present themselves on the first page. Most users click on the first ranking result. Click-through rates begin to drop significantly on subsequent result listings.
Enhance Your Mobile SEO with Cadence!
Mobile SEO is essential to increasing your rank on SERPs. CadenceSEO is a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in all things SEO, including mobile SEO. From improving your mobile site’s load time to enhancing the site’s design to creating a user-friendly experience, Cadence can help your business optimize your mobile website. We understand that each enterprise has its own unique goals. Our SEO experts can custom design a digital marketing strategy tailored to your needs. Contact us for a free consultation today!
