If you’re looking for the best practices for mobile SEO, you’ve come to the right place! We will show you how your website can look and perform at its best on smartphones. In turn, it’s ready to serve potential customers wherever and whenever!
Just as the title says, we will go through mobile SEO’s best practices one-by-one. However, we know that not every reader will be familiar with this topic. That’s why we reserved a segment elaborating on SEO just below the list.
Everyone has a smartphone nowadays, allowing us to browse the internet no matter the time and place. If you have a website, you must ensure it will show up correctly and beautifully on these devices. As a result, it will leave a great first impression for all visitors.
The 7 mobile SEO practices you need this year
- Prepare your website configuration.
- Test all your web pages.
- Let the bots check your website.
- Your website should load quickly.
- It must also load correctly.
- The website should look great.
- Check how your website is doing.
#1. Prepare your website configuration.
In 2018, Google launched its mobile-first index. It’s where the search engine stores all the data collected from websites. This method uses indexing to understand the information.
This type of index is used for the entire web nowadays. In response, people configured their websites by choosing among three methods:
- Separate site – The earliest website configuration method was to create two different versions of the site. One was for desktops, while the other was for mobile devices. As you can imagine, this took a lot of time and effort to do. Though, some companies have preferred not to use the newer ways of website configuration.
- Dynamic serving – Your website will have a single URL that will direct visitors to compatible versions with their devices. Imagine building a webpage for every smartphone model and screen size! However, this also took a lot of time and effort.
- Responsive web design -This involves just one URL with a single website that adapts to whatever device a visitor is using. This is the one that Google prefers the most. Using it will allow you to rank higher on its search results. They also load faster, improving the user experience even more.
Are you wondering why websites still use the two older methods? Well, it takes a lot of time, effort, and money when transitioning from one web configuration to another.
Weigh your options carefully. Make sure you balance between expertise and expense. For the best results, get the best digital marketing agency for the job.
#2. Test all your web pages.
Your website is made up of numerous web pages. Each one can make or break the user experience. That is why you should check every page on your site.
You could do it for free, too! Google Search Console has the tools you need. Here’s how it can help you test web pages:
- Open the Google Search Console.
- Look for the Mobile Usability button. This will show the menu for viewing visitors’ results to your site.
- Check the results. If there are any issues, the Console will give notifications and steps for fixing these.
On the other hand, you may include your website’s URL into the Google Mobile-Friendly Test Tool. It’s pretty simple to use. It looks and works like Google’s homepage.
Still, you may want to visit the websites yourself. Just make sure you use one that has no connection to your company. In other words, it shouldn’t link to your business tools.
Your company phone or computer might have apps or cookies specific to that site. In turn, your user experience might not be the same for everyone outside your business.
Meanwhile, a random device will show how regular people see your website. Still, you shouldn’t just stick to one method. Use several of the best practices for mobile SEO instead.
Read More: How To Increase Your Domain Authority
#3. Let the bots check your website.
We often refer to the internet as a sort of “web.” It contains billions of online resources that are all connected. Following this analogy, it also has “spiders” crawling all over!
Specifically, search engines like Google use search spiders. These are the ones that perform the indexing we mentioned. They establish connections between the various sites.
You may not like real-life spiders, but you should embrace these online ones. In other words, you should allow them access to its resources. Allow them to learn more about your site.
This will make it easier for search spiders to add your site to the Google Index. In turn, they’ll have an easier time “crawling” all over your website. You may perform one of these steps:
- Check robots.txt – Open this file to see if it’s allowing search spiders. Enter your homepage URL followed by “/robots.txt”.
- Google Search Console – Open the Console. Then, look for the Google Index section in the robots tab. Click on it and then check the Blocked Resources. Alternatively, make sure search spiders can access everything via the Fetch and Render tool.
- Create an XML sitemap – After making the sitemaps, send them to the Google Search Console along with your mobile website.
You may want to ask your company’s web developer to help you. If not, you may just get LeadAdvisors for your mobile SEO. Less time and hassle, more results and hustle!
#4. Your website should load quickly.
Let’s say your website allows online purchases. If it takes too long to load, people will likely leave you. A few seconds could significantly affect your bounce rate!
A slow website can also interfere with lead generation. You’ll have difficulty getting information qualified leads if you load too slowly in mobile and desktop searches.
Let’s say a customer finally locked in their purchase. Sadly, it took too long to process the transaction. That’s a sales-qualified lead you lost right there! The customer might just leave.
This is why you should check your page speed. Google’s mobile speed test can help you. It’s a free online service that works like its other tools.
The mobile speed test will tell you how fast your website loads. It will also show you how it performs with what connection. Similar to the mobile-friendly tool, it will provide solutions too.
What’s more, use Mobile Analysis with Google Developers PageSpeed Insights. Then, run regular checks via the PageSpeed Insights analyzer tool.
#5. It must also load correctly.
How to optimize your website for mobile
✔️ Make sure Google can access everything
✔️ Don’t use interstitial popups
✔️ Present same content on desktop & mobile
✔️ Improve mobile site speed
✔️ Perform technical SEO for mobileMore #MobileSEO tips 👉 https://t.co/jCJYQ58cZH.
— Semrush (@semrush) September 23, 2020
Let’s say your website now loads quickly. On some devices, though, you find out that the site looks wrong. This could be due to poor web optimization.
The parts of the website might show up in the wrong segments. Or the text is too big that users have to adjust it themselves. Such factors may turn off visitors and increase your bounce rate.
What are the best mobile SEO practices for this one? They’re similar to what you’d do for a desktop site. Here are some of the steps you could take:
- Make easy-to-use menus – Avoid showing the menu right on your website. Instead, provide a pull-down menu or toggle. Those will take away precious real estate for your content.
- Avoid pop-up windows – Google frowns upon using lightboxes or popup windows.
- Adapt screen size – This just means your website should adapt to the screen size of visitor devices. Dynamic serving or responsive web design may help with this.
- Provide easy search – Users should have an easier time accessing the search bar. Your search filters should reduce the chances of showing zero results.
- Place widgets – Have you ever seen a small button in the bottom right corner of websites? Click on those, and it will probably let you speak to a customer service representative. What’s more, there’s a home-shaped icon that takes you back to the homepage. You may want to add those to your website as well.
#6. The website should look great.
Let’s say you’ve been following the best practices for mobile SEO so far. Your site loads fast, and it’s easy to use, too. Yet, people may still not hang around on your site. Why is that?
People should also like how your website looks. Strike a balance between aesthetic and function. It should look pretty, but not pretty hard to view! You can improve it by:
- Writing brief paragraphs – Phones have limited screen space. You don’t want a huge wall of text blocking your entire website. Instead, break up paragraphs into smaller bits. If you’ve noticed, this article applies this mobile SEO method!
- Using bullet points – It’s easier to show a list if you use bullet points. If you use a paragraph, they’ll clump together. In turn, the reader will have to strain hard for each line of text. Again, this article applies one of the SEO best practices!
- Picking the right fonts – You might be tempted to use a fancy font to stand out among competitors. However, readers may find it hard to read. Use a simple one like Arial instead. There are better ways to wow your audience.
- Choosing the right colors – You don’t want your page to look drab and dull. At the same time, it shouldn’t overwhelm the eyes with too many colors. You could keep it simple by using one color for the background. The text color should contrast with this.
You could check the other sponsored content on Inquirer USA. Try this one about Fiverr guest post services as an example. Each one follows these mobile SEO techniques.
#7. Check how your website is doing.
📱Do a quick mobile #SEO site analysis with the new SEOquake iOS app (from @SEMrush). Supports Safari share function! https://t.co/HYsTosO2Wo pic.twitter.com/h10Dtfr1p9
— Semrush (@semrush) January 16, 2017
There is still one thing you should keep on doing after the best practices for mobile SEO. Constantly check your website’s performance. You can’t just call it a day and leave it be!
The internet is always changing. It’s not just the Google search engine that’s updating. The upcoming Windows 11 may affect it too! The internet browsers and mobile phones do it too.
As a result, your website may not perform as well as it did before. That’s why you should keep up with the latest in tech. That way, you can redo the other mobile SEO methods properly.
If you have a business, though, you might not have the time. Perhaps you’re too busy to hire web experts. Maybe the ones working for you are occupied with other projects.
This is where a good digital marketing agency comes in handy. With LeadAdvisors, you’ll have the best looking over the mobile SEO for you. They’re sure to follow the best SEO practices.
Why do I need mobile SEO’s best practices?
The internet has been around for several years. Even then, people have been making sure their website got picked up by Google searches. How were they doing it?
Website creators have been focused on desktop optimization back then. After all, smartphones weren’t around decades ago. That all changed when the iPhone launched.
Soon, more people gained access to smartphones. Gone were the days of sitting behind a desk before going online. Now, you can do it outside without a bulky desktop.
As you may have expected, people now prefer browsing the internet via mobile. In 2020, 50.34% of internet searchers used smartphones. Meanwhile, 46.67% used desktops.
What’s more, mobile traffic now dominates eCommerce around the world. You may check this related graph from SEMRush for more details. You should also optimize for mobile because:
- Your brand needs mobile UX – We said that mobile page SEO could make or break your first impression with customers. This is because many of them will first encounter your brand on their mobile devices.
- Mobile sales are growing – In 2020, more than 2 billion people bought products and services on the internet. Meanwhile, e-retail sales went beyond 4.2 trillion US dollars around the world. If you’re providing goods and services online, these should convince you to use the best practices for mobile SEO.
- Voice search and local SEO – When customers ask Alexa or Siri for an item, your brand should be the first thing they recommend. Mobile SEO’s best practices may also help with local SEO.
Final thoughts
You may learn SEO from the internet. Of course, you probably don’t have the time to learn about user agents and structured data. You have a company to run!
Your brand doesn’t need to do everything nowadays. Why waste company resources when you can outsource? You can get great results using less money and time.
Fortunately, LeadAdvisors can provide the SEO expertise your company deserves. Rest assured, your digital marketing is in capable hands.
Learn more about mobile SEO’s best practices
Why is mobile SEO important?
More people are using mobile devices instead of desktops to browse the internet. This is why you should be creating content that’s tailored to these gadgets. That way, you’ll rank high on their search results. It will also allow you to improve the user experience and promote a positive brand image.
How can I improve my mobile SEO?
Your website should load properly on smartphones, no matter the brand or model. It shouldn’t take long to load, and visitors shouldn’t strain to view your site. Still, you need to follow desktop page SEO practices like internal linking. Make sure your anchor texts, alt texts, title tags, and meta descriptions suit Google search requirements.
What are SEO tools?
As the name suggests, these are online services that let you optimize content for search engines. You have free options such as the ones provided by Google. On the other hand, you may pay for SEMRush tools and others for better results. However, it’s best to use a combination of both.