Mobile Search Engine Optimization

In the past, web developers tried different mobile formats including m.sites and adaptive sites. Neither were true mobile sites and were actually detrimental since they were duplicate sites, which Google penalizes. M.sites used the desktop site’s full navigation, content, and media, resulting in poor user experience. Adaptive (or dynamic) sites failed the test since they required multiple versions – desktop, tablet, or smartphone – to suit the visitor’s device. If your company site uses either of these formats, you’re overdue for a redesign.

Responsive website designs are the answer to mobile optimization. As the name suggests, responsive sites detect the user’s device, and a properly rendered version of the site is displayed. By utilizing CSS (cascading style sheets), only one version of the site is needed, eliminating the potential for duplicate content issues and penalties.

If your website is not responsive, it’s time for an overhaul. Sites that use old-style mobile systems won’t cut it with internet users or Google’s current practices.

At Efferent Media, we will create a responsive website that will offer a positive user experience for visitors, no matter the traffic channel used to land there. By positioning your site at the top of both mobile and desktop Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), your site can capture qualified traffic that converts into revenue-generating leads.

Mobile SEO is more than just having a responsive website. Page speed is a key aspect of user-friendliness and a slow site will definitely work against you. A slow website can frustrate users into leaving your site, resulting in lost customers and lost revenue, and it goes even further than that. A study proved that a slow site can stress your visitors to the same level as horror movies or having to solve math problems. That’s not something that any brand wants.

How much do seconds count? According to NeilPatel.com, a 1-second increase in page speed can cause a 7% reduction in conversions. Can your business afford to lose 7% or more of its leads? Patel further states that 40% of users will abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

Keep this in mind: while you may have the latest, greatest mobile phone and 5G access, the vast majority of cellphone users do not enjoy that luxury. Most mobile phone owners aren’t using the newest models, and 2G, 3G, and 4G networks are still widely used. So even though your website loads quickly on a brand new iPhone while standing in the middle of New York City, that doesn’t mean that a user on an older phone and slower network is enjoying the same experience.

Efferent Media’s team will optimize your on-page website assets to ensure a fast page speed and create a good user experience. If you are ready to get started and boost your website’s ranking and conversions, contact our experienced mobile speed optimization experts today by calling (631) 867-0900.

A lightning-quick responsive website is an important step in the right direction. Our website development team will optimize on-page assets including images, videos, buttons, and forms. Some asset formats can cause significant increases in page load speed, and not every web developer realizes the SEO impact of their designs. Our team at Efferent Media will ensure that your visitors’ experience on mobile is just as rich as it would be on the desktop site.

Website URL structure and architecture require optimization as well. Does the arrangement of the site content make sense? Are the pages organized? Does the internal linking scheme make sense? We will examine all of these elements and more, and implement optimized fixes when needed.

Content is an often overlooked, yet vitally important, mobile SEO aspect. According to BruceClay.com, 62% of keyword rankings differ between mobile and desktop. How is this possible? While your website can have hundreds of pages with thousands of words per page, this isn’t ideal for mobile sites. Our team will work with existing content, maintaining its relevancy while structuring it specifically for mobile readers.

Just as standard desktop websites require on-page, off-page, and technical optimizations, mobile websites do, too. Standard SEO practices do apply to mobile sites, and we also devote special focus and consideration to mobile optimization.

Why is all this mobile optimization necessary? It’s no longer enough to simply have a mobile site. Google has made it clear that mobile site optimization is critical to a good user experience, which itself will become a ranking factor in 2021. Google’s stance and emphasis on mobile site optimization is nothing new.

• April 2015 – Mobilegeddon, the notorious Google update drops. It boosted rankings for mobile-friendly sites and punished non-mobile-friendly sites in mobile SERPs.
• December 2017 – Mobile-first site indexing began slowly rolling out.
• December 2018 – Webmasters started getting notifications in Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools) that sites have been switched to mobile-first indexing.
• March 2018 – A wider mobile-first indexing rollout begins.
• May 2019 – Mobile-first indexing became the default for new websites.
• March 2020 – Google announced that mobile-first indexing for the entire Web would begin in September 2020, since pushing back the date to March 2021 due to COVID-19.

So if your website isn’t already optimized for mobile-first traffic, you’re already behind. Let Efferent Media help you position your website for success.

Mobile SEO is fast becoming synonymous with SEO. If a website is optimized properly, it is set up for success in both mobile and desktop environments. If not, then it’s time to get started on mobile optimization. The clock is ticking on Google’s move toward global mobile-first indexing. Don’t get left out in the cold – or off the mobile SERPs – by having a website that isn’t responsive and lacks mobile SEO. As the usage of mobile devices continues to grow, every business needs to be ready.

Efferent Media’s team will optimize on-page website assets to ensure a fast page speed and create a good user experience. If you are ready to get started and boost your website’s ranking and conversions, contact our experienced mobile speed optimization experts today by calling (631) 867-0900.