Mobile optimization has quickly become the most critical facet of robust SEO marketing. Statistics report that in the second quarter of 2022, mobile accounts and devices, particularly smartphones, generated close to 63% of internet traffic worldwide. With rapid advancements in technology, AI, the IoT, and smart homes, users are expected to rely more than ever on their mobile phones to manage just about every aspect of their lives. And, that includes shopping for products and services.
As a business owner attempting to capture the maximum traffic, you absolutely need to ensure that your website is compatible with mobile internet browsers. Read ahead to understand mobile optimization and why you must prioritize this SEO marketing tool in 2022.
Understanding Mobile Optimization
When you build a website, it is designed to function in a certain way on a PC or laptop. However, the web pages will not behave exactly the same on a smaller screen or mobile phone. You’ll need to make the necessary tweaks to ensure the pages display and perform correctly on a handset. Don’t make the mistake of confusing a mobile-friendly site with a mobile-optimized website. That’s because a mobile-friendly site is designed to work precisely the same way regardless of the device used. It will have elements like contact information in text form that initiates an email message or a call via the smartphone when tapped. Or, a slideshow that functions without Flash animation.
However, mobile optimization is organizing your website to reformat when browsed on a smartphone automatically. Each time users land on the site, they should have an excellent UX or user experience with easy-to-read pages and simple navigation with clearly displayed buttons. The images are also optimized to resize and fit on a smaller screen and display correctly when the phone is viewed vertically or horizontally.
Why Optimizing Your Site for Mobile Phones is Important
SEO marketing and building websites are ultimately about lead generation. When potential customers search for information on the internet, they’re looking for quick-loading sites and pages that quickly deliver. Anything less than that, and they’re likely to switch to the next link available on the search pages list. You’ll simply end up with higher bounce rates. If you want to capture the lead and ensure they finalize the purchase before leaving, you’ll need to optimize the website accordingly.
Even if users don’t convert right away and hit the “Add to Cart” button, you’ll need them to volunteer their phone number and other contact information for future marketing campaigns. Further, if they like what they see, you’ll get recommendations from friends and family, which can prove invaluable for organic traffic.
It’s All About Google’s Mobile-First Indexing
Since your SEO marketing strategies are all about enticing Google search bots, you would want to be mindful of the latest algorithm--Mobile-First Indexing. According to this update, the search engine giant predominantly evaluates the mobile version of each webpage for indexing and ranking. If yours is a newer website deployed after July 1st, 2019, it will have mobile-first indexing enabled as a default setting. More mature websites will continue to have their desktop versions targeted for indexing, but the switch should have been completed by March 2021. You will likely have received the Google Search Console notification informing you of the update.
If you aren’t quite sure if you need mobile optimization, there’s a simple process for checking. Open the Google Console and run an inspection of a webpage by adding its URL. The coverage results will give you metrics like the date of the last crawl and if it was crawled by “Googlebot smartphone.” That’s an indication that your site is now mobile-first.
Mobile-First Indexing is Not Voluntary
Opting for mobile-first indexing is not voluntary; Google switches you to this version automatically. On the flip side, you can’t opt out of it. As Google announced, “If you have a responsive site or a dynamic serving site where the primary content and markup is equivalent across mobile and desktop, you shouldn’t have to change anything.”
The takeaway is that even if you have two websites, one designed for desktops and the other for mobiles, be sure that only the mobile version is likely to get indexed. Even so, you would want to check that your website delivers the best UX regardless of the device used for browsing.
That’s where the folks at Hyperlocal come in. You can rely on our expert developers to run a detailed and in-depth site audit to identify the areas that need improvement. We’ll optimize your site for mobile phones, so it complies with Google algorithms and continues to get organic traffic. If you need assistance with other SEO marketing strategies, you’ve come to the right place.
Ready for more information? Contact us https://www.hyperlocalplatform.com/contact/ at Hyperlocal, and let’s put together a game plan for you. We’re also available for a call at +1-312-313-4020 or email us at info@hyperlocalplatform.com with your queries.