October Newsletter: How To – Mobile SEO
How To: Mobile SEO
Part One of a Two Part Series on Mobile Search Marketing
You’ve no doubt already heard the statistics imploring you to care about mobile search. If not, here is a smattering of factoids:
• More people worldwide will access the Internet on a mobile device than on a PC by 2013. (source)
• Mobile searches have quadrupled in the last year. (source)
• 77% of smartphone users visit search engines (more than any other type of website, including social networking). (source)
• Nine out of ten smartphone searches result in an action (visiting a store or brand website, making a purchase, etc.). (source)
• 88% of local information seekers take action within a day, mostly within one hour. (source)
It’s crystal clear that marketers need to ensure that they can be found by people searching – and looking to buy – on their mobile devices. But how? We’ll cover mobile search engine optimization this month, and mobile search advertising (PPC) next month.
Things to Know About Mobile SEO
Mobile search is different from desktop search – Search Engine Land lists 14 ways. Note that searchers are more likely to be looking for local results, so these types of sites (and Google Places pages) are typically ranked higher.
It’s even more important to rank #1 on a mobile search engine than on a PC, as mobile screens are so small. Click-through rates drop off precipitously for lower-ranked sites. That said, multiple studies have shown that, in general, click-through rates are 3-5 times higher on mobile devices than desktops. Mobile searchers really want to take immediate action.
Desktop search tends to peak during weekday business hours and into the evening, but since most people have their mobile devices with them all the time, mobile search is more likely to happen first thing in the morning, late at night, and on weekends.
Google has 97% of the mobile search market share, and their algorithm is different for mobile devices than desktops. In fact, different mobile sites may be displayed for different types of phones even, depending on which sites will render best for each phone. The searcher’s location is more likely to come into play in a mobile search, site loading speed is critical, and bounce rate is also important.
How To: Mobile SEO Basics
We’re assuming you’ve got (or are building) a specific mobile website. Here are some mobile search engine optimization tips to get you started:
Keywords: The keywords being used by mobile searchers are often different than those searching from their PC – not only in terms of intent, but in terms of length (mobile searchers type shorter queries) and accuracy (mobile searchers make 1.5 times more typos). Here are some specific examples of the different types of searches, as well as information on how to do mobile keyword research.
Note that you can see which keywords are currently being used by mobile searchers to find your site by running a Search Query Report in Google Analytics and filtering it by mobile devices.
Content: Best practices for SEO apply to mobile sites as well – have text content on your mobile web pages (here’s an interesting analysis of “brevity vs. optimization” Use keywords in title tags here as well.
Links: Yes, links can (and should) be built that point to mobile sites as well as traditional sites.
Page Speed: Having a fast-loading site is even more important in the mobile realm than the desktop world.
XML Sitemaps: Should be created for your mobile site and submitted to Google and Bing Webmaster tools and verified.
Tools: Tools are available to grade your mobile HTML code, show how Google sees your mobile site and ranks it on different phones, and more at MobileMoxie.
Want more? In-depth and more technical articles on mobile SEO are available from Lee Odden, Bryson Meunier, and Cindy Krum.
Tune in next month for “how to” information on mobile paid advertising (PPC). You may also be interested in our coverage of SEMPO Atlanta’s highly-rated Mobile Search event last April, and our recent review of the iPhone 4S’s “Siri,” which has the potential to bypass Google and transform mobile search.
Company Updates
Announcing…Embark Search Marketing for small business! See article at below left.
We have a mobile site thanks to our partner in crime Luiz Varanda – use your smartphone to scan this QR code and visit it.
Attend the 6th Annual Small Business Conference & Entrepreneur Showcase November 5 to see Stacy on a panel discussing “The New Face of Marketing”
Search Advisory Posts
The whole PPI team has been posting and sharing their knowledge!
SEO Doesn’t Work for You? Maybe Your Baby is Ugly
Multi-Channel Funnel Analytics
Business Profiles Soon to Come on Google+
Apple Changes the Face of Local Search
The New Google Places – For Better or Worse?
Google Adds Instant Previews to Sitelinks
Subscribe to our blog posts on Search Advisory – sign up at the upper right corner.
Previous Issues
September: Easing the Drudgery of Link-Building
August: Be Greedy: Dominate the SERPs with Sitelinks
July: What Google+ Means for Search Marketing
About Us
Prominent Placement, Inc. is an award-winning, full-service search engine marketing (SEM) firm, delivering ROI that traditional marketing channels can’t touch, with a level of service that raises the bar. Since 2001, Prominent Placement has managed the entire SEM process for clients across the U.S., driving leads and revenue while empowering businesses to focus on what they do best. Prominent Placement’s customized solutions are backed by hard numbers, giving decision makers the confidence they need to make smarter decisions.
For more information, visit our website or call 888.SEM.MKTR (888.736.6587). If you’d like to learn how Prominent Placement can drive more leads for your business, contact Stacy Williams at x702 or stacywilliams@prominentplacement.com.
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