Best Practices for Mobile-Friendly SEO

Everyone wants to be first on Google. Everyone wants to be in the number 1 position, on the first page. In order to gain visibility on mobile search, companies require a strategy that applies the best practices when it comes to local SEO, continually improving site speed, adhering to mobile-friendly design, and more.

Organic always trumps paid

Here are some stats to keep you motivated by following an organic-based strategy. According to Search Engine Land, eye tracking studies revealed that a vast majority of users pay attention to organic search results, and about 80% of users ignore or skim past paid results. Maintaining a mobile friendly site that packs useful content will be integral in getting those high organic placements, though it will take time and a well-executed content strategy to achieve this.

Secondly, nearly three-quarters of users never look further than the first page of search results. That is some very stiff competition and unless you’re willing to put in the time and energy to a dedicated digital marketing strategy, you may find yourself losing out to your competitors who rank better than you.

Local, Local, Local

One consideration that’s very important when it comes to mobile SEO is that many searches that are performed on mobile devices will be location-specific. This is where local SEO tactics should be emphasized as part of the strategy for ranking well. Being listed in local directories, having Yelp and Facebook reviews, and maintaining an active and dynamic Google+ page will have more of an influence on mobile search results. The idea is that over time, these digital signals will let Google know that your business or service is reputable, tested and eventually will reward your site by improving your local ranking.

Another integral part of the local SEO factor is to ensure that your NAP (name, address and phone number) are 100% consistently listed everywhere. Having multiple addresses could sever your local power, in addition to having typos and other inconsistencies. Make sure to dot your i’s and cross your t’s the same way across the board.

Stay Updated

As of last April, Google has introduced a series of updates that began to give preferential treatment to mobile-friendly sites. Furthermore, Google forewarned that it would gradually penalize non-responsive sites by placing them further down in organic search results. This meant that if your website wasn’t optimized for mobile devices, you’d start to slip in the ranks of search results. Even if you had previously secured high ranking positions, having a website that wasn’t optimized for mobile would start causing issues.

Fortunately, Google has made some tools available to diagnose if your site is mobile friendly, such as the Google Developers Mobile Friendly Test. After inputting a URL, the tool gives a score out of 100 points, and enlists a series of fixes and suggestions to ensure your site performs better. This is an invaluable tool for developers who can see exactly what part of their code or web design is causing their site to have issues, and if any pages of your site is not being crawled or indexed properly by the search engine.

Optimize your site today

There are a variety of ways that companies can improve their mobile SEO strength, and to leverage the tools of web design to attract more qualified customer. Contact the Tampa SEO experts and web designers at Absolute Marketing Solutions today to learn more about how to optimize your mobile friendly site today!