Usually, writing on the topic related to searching and socializing of a mobile search engine we easily forget that most businesses still aren’t into mobile. Them not being on mobile doesn’t impact much to them today, and aren’t really planning for a future where most of our online activity will take place on mobile devices.
For the businesses that take advantage from mobile sites today without waiting until doing so is mission critical, it might not be much of a trouble, especially because the contest has not yet taken the real face . If the market isn’t yet asking for this originality, I think part of the reason is that people haven’t yet understood the real value of mobile SEO.
Why Mobile SEO Is Different From Desktop SEO?
One of the major reasons why SEOs (SEO professionals) all over the world need to think about mobile today is that mobile search results on feature phone or Smartphone differ from the search results that appear on a desktop browser.
In order to encourage those of you who still think optimizing for desktop search is sufficient to rank in mobile today and in the future, There are few points that mobile (Smartphone) search results differ from desktop results today:
Local results are more likely in mobile, so Google Places listings sometimes become visible higher in mobile results than they do in desktop. The key to building the right decision for your business is by fully accepting the circumstances and possible cost of your actions. Not ignoring mobile search.
In reality, perhaps there are much more differences between mobile and desktop search in Google. Probability is, as Google continues the development of changing mobile search results to fit the user’s mobile context in order to continue their search authority in mobile and fend off would-be competitors, there will be many more differences between desktop and mobile to come. Have you started to think about, or act on these differences in your SEO campaigns?
Here are 2 basic differences in desktop versus mobile search to consider:
1. Limited real estate of search results
In a Google search, 10 results are presented. For desktop users, around 5-7 of these are “on front page”, sense they can be seen without scrolling down. This number is even less depending on whether Google Instant is turned on, and if ads are enabled. On mobile, it’s even less. Usually only 1-2 results can be viewed without scrolling.
This is noteworthy for websites that rank lower in mobile searches than on desktops. The difference between a 1st place and 5th place result may not matter too much to a desktop searcher. But falling from 1st to 9th on a mobile search is like being on 2nd Page of a desktop search. The results are there – but it’s a little less likely you’ll dig that deep.
2. User engagement and bounce rate
Mobile users are interested in getting in turn and moving on with their lives. It’s possible that Google can tell how much time visitors spend inside website and use this data when shaping status.
For example, a website that was not modified for mobile use, that requires a lot of scrolling and manual typing from Smartphone users, may not retain visitors for long. They’re more likely to use a site that provides a quick and painless user experience, with minimum scrolling and easier input options. So in a search result, the “mobile friendly” site should show up higher for mobile users.
