What are the Benefits of Mobile SEO?
With over half (52%) of global internet traffic coming from mobile devices, website owners should see the incentive to optimize their websites for mobile devices so they can gain visitors who are searching on-the-go.
Mobile search engine optimization (SEO) is essential if you don’t want to miss out on a big piece of that traffic pie. Having a mobile-friendly design, optimizing your content for voice search, and making sure your site speed is lightning fast are just a few ways you can make your site ready for mobile visitors.
Why is mobile SEO important and what are the benefits for your website? Read on to get the full scoop.
Why is Mobile Optimization Important?
With so many people now searching from mobile devices, Google now shows the mobile version of websites within the search results. This means that if your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you might miss out on a good chunk of traffic.
There have been indications that Google prioritizes websites based on their mobile performance, so having a mobile-friendly version of your website is practically a necessity if you want to rank at the top of the search results. Whether you have a simple portfolio site, run a large e-commerce site, or use our law firm SEO service, you need to implement mobile SEO if you want to attract organic traffic.
The characteristics of a mobile-optimized site include:
- Loads easily on smartphones and tablets
- Fast load time
- No mobile pop-ups
- Font large enough to be read on small devices
- Clear and simple navigation
- Well structured, user-friendly format
- Fitted to screen size (no vertical or horizontal scrolling necessary)
- Contact forms can be filled out even on a small screen
- Call-to-action buttons are functional and easy to see
Benefits of Mobile SEO
The benefits of mobile SEO go far beyond simply generating more traffic from mobile search; it improves the overall experience for your visitors. This helps boost conversions and keep users engaged with your site, even when they are navigating it on a small screen.
Here are the benefits you can look forward to when you implement mobile SEO on your website.
Loads Website Quickly
Google has already indicated that site speed is an important ranking factor, and this holds true whether users are searching from a desktop or mobile device. It’s recommended that your site loads in under 3 seconds (preferably under 2 seconds). Otherwise, you risk users leaving your site.
Mobile SEO involves optimizing your site for search engines and for users. By making your website load quickly, you encourage users to stay on your site.
Improves User Experience
Mobile SEO makes it easier for visitors to navigate your website on their smartphone or tablet. It can be frustrating to users if they have to zoom in to read the text, can’t click on buttons, or otherwise have to struggle to find information on your site.
Don’t create this type of experience for your visitors. Invest in mobile SEO to improve user experience and satisfaction. Happy visitors become happy clients and customers!
Decreases Website Bounce Rate
If your website is difficult to use, users might get frustrated and leave your site. When a user leaves your site before visiting a second page, this is called a “bounce”. A high bounce rate indicates that users couldn’t find what they were looking for or were somehow struggling to navigate your site.
Mobile SEO helps you lower this bounce rate, keeping users on your site for longer – with hopes of keeping them there until they convert into a customer, client, or subscriber.
Responsive on All Types of Devices
You can test your website’s mobile responsiveness on different devices using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. This test will show you how your site looks on different devices and will give you a score based on how mobile-friendly your site is. You can then use this information to optimize your site and make it easier for users to navigate regardless of the device they use.
Optimized for Voice Search
Voice search tools like “Ok, Google!” and Siri allow users to search on-the-go, hands-free. You can optimize your website content for voice search terms and questions like “Italian restaurant near me” or “How much does an elephant weigh?” to get your site to rank for terms people are using over voice search.
Voice search optimization is a good way to get some additional traffic, even when users aren’t actually scrolling through the search results. The voice assistant can bring up your brand automatically, and then a user might continue to other pages on your site.
Improves Mobile Conversions
When your website is mobile-friendly, you make it easier for users to click your call-to-action buttons, fill out a form, or click on the phone number on your website. Ultimately, you want visitors to turn into customers or clients, so it’s important to make your site conversion-friendly on mobile devices.
How Do I Get Started with Mobile SEO?
Clearly, there are many benefits to mobile SEO – but now the question is: where do you start? If you want to optimize your website to get more mobile traffic, be sure to check out our complete mobile SEO guide. We dive deep into how to make your website accessible to users on any device.