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Mobile Web
Optimization
 2010:
The Year of Mobile
Everyone seems to have a Smartphone these days, and more and
more focus is being put on mobile devices that call, do
email, allow you to browse the web, and more. With that,
however, come some interesting changes to the world of
website design and website marketing. Mobile devices don’t
see websites the same as computers do, mainly because the
viewing area is so much smaller. To that end, many sites
have created alternative websites aimed specifically at
mobile users.
While this is
great, there are a few challenges that come with it. First,
you have to decide what content to include on the mobile
page, how that content will be split up, and more. You also
have to understand that these mobile sites aren’t going to
be anywhere near as detailed or complex as your standard web
site. Most mobile users want something specific, and since
many have only a limited amount of bandwidth they can use
each month, they want that specific information as quickly
as possible and by downloading as little as possible. This
means no large images, no big blocks of text, and no fancy
menus.
What this also
means, however, is that a lot of the traditional SEO
techniques aren’t going to be viable. Writing large articles
that incorporate keywords, for example, is
counter-productive when it comes to a mobile site. So is it
possible to make your mobile site stand out and get the
attention of mobile search engines? Of course it is! They’re
also often searching for local results, especially phone
numbers or addresses. Quick answers to trivia questions are
also popular.
Another thing to
take into consideration is that your webpage is going to be
split up into several different mini-pages on a mobile
device, and most users don’t continuously click next to see
the entire site. In fact, most will only click through two
or three of these pages before giving up and either going to
a different site or rephrasing their search. The standard
search result page generally includes ten results, which is
why so many companies aim at getting their sites into the
top ten. However, a mobile search result page may feature
fewer results, so now instead of top ten you need to get
your mobile page into the top five.
Finally, mobile
searches, while often more specific, are also often shorter
than PC searches. This is because people don’t want to use
their tiny keyboards to type in anything too long. According
to a study, around 85% of all mobile searches contain only
two words. So what does all of this mean for your mobile
website? It means that you’ve got to have it very, very
focused on exactly what it’s about. Instead of a wide
variety of keywords like you’d use on a standard website, in
fact, many say you need to narrow down your mobile site to
exactly one keyword. Do that and you’ll find your site
getting much more mobile traffic than it did before!
Need help
optimizing your website for mobile devices? J4 Systems has
the expertise to optimize any website for the ultimate
mobile viewing experience. Contact us today to schedule a
complimentary appointment with one of our lead web
developers.
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