Mobile search and SEO: why and how are they so related?

As mobile devices continue to evolve and offer technologies such as foldable smartphones, mobile search and seo are more than ever linked. The increasing daily use of smartphones and tablets influences our entire lives. No need to go to flea markets anymore, we have apps for it! Need to manage your accounts or ask for a new card? Online banking! Let’s stop here for the examples. Well, the world of SEO is also affected because when we are using our mobiles, we are consuming differently. The way we search is hence impacted and that explains why the criteria and methods of positioning evolve. Let’s discover how our browsing habits have changed our optimization habits and mobile SEO.

The evolution of mobile search and SEO

Between the first mobile phone in 1973 and the current sale of the Galaxy S20, smartphones did not have the same functionalities, importance or even performance. Voice search, touch screen and video call are part of our daily lives. Professionals have to think their SEO strategy differently by placing the user at the heart of it. Mobile search and seo in 2020 are definitely not the same compared to 10 years ago.

The importance of smartphones, tablets and mobile SEO in our lives and jobs

Tablets and smartphones are omnipresent and are true work tool for some professions. We check our emails, our statistics and are continuously reachable. Ask people around you how many do NOT have a mobile phone? Certainly none or maybe a few. The influence of this technology is considerable. In French, the word “mobinaute” is even use to identify a person using internet on mobile. 

New jobs as mobile phone repairers, mobile app developers or mobile software engineers appeared. And even within existing professions, trends have evolved. Responsive web design is common and we have to think mobile first. Both in codes and graphical layouts, all possible uses must be considered.

SEO is not spared and has always changed with web standards, for example with the GDPR since 2016. Search engine optimization is important to be well positioned on SERP (the result page). Now, considering the previous observation, strategy must be extended to all different technologies. In order to comply with this trend, search engines encouraged the websites that made an efforts in adapting to various devices. It is actually a criteria for the Google algorithm and the term mobile SEO (MSO)  is more and more used. The American giant has even a Googlebot dedicated to smartphones. Now, let’s see more about the domains affected and good practices for a mobile-friendly SEO.

Areas impacted by those search habits and useful tips

Of course, changes are of different types, and some aspects are more affected than others. Here are few concerned domains.

Thinking vocal, local and social

Let’s begin with local SEO. This term refers to positioning oneself in a target area. And it’s a vein to exploit. Smartphones have become real allies when it comes to choosing an itinerary, but especially the activities once we’re there! If you own a business in a specific location, don’t neglect this aspect of SEO. Tools such as Google My Business allow you to locate your business and give as much information as possible to future customers! It allows a good positioning, and possible visits in addition.

Written or vocal, two schools, two SEOs! In addition to the possibility for almost all applications to make voicemail messages and the popularity of assistants such as Alexa, we are also doing more and more voice searches. We don’t usually talk the same way we write. As a result, queries are not formulated the same way. The impact on mobile search and SEO is therefore important! Search engine optimization is partly based on well-chosen keywords and expressions. If we do not optimize the right keywords, there will be no conclusive results.

Finally, don’t neglect social networks! They are popular thanks to their easy access via smartphones or tablets and proximity between professionals and prospects/customers. On the website Le Blog du Modérateur, we can read that among actifs users of social medias, 3,6 milliards are connected  from a mobile phone (Sources : Le Blog du Moderateur / We Are Social / GlobalWebIndex , 2020).

Any connection with mobile search and SEO? Yes, because they are part of a real optimization strategy called SMO (Social Media Optimization). It is therefore very interesting to highlight and maintain them because they can generate traffic to a website.

How to optimize your mobile search and SEO with few useful tips

Of course, don’t forget about your classics! You still need to provide regular qualitative contents, optimize your keywords and take care of your markup and netlinking.

As said before, don’t neglect the responsive aspect and mobile use, through an adaptive design or a fully mobile version of your website. Concerning the markup, you can use the tag : meta name=”Viewport”, so that the display and contents fit the screen. You may also be interested in AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). This Google-specific format has interesting SEO advantages such as speed. Then, you need to make all your contents accessible to search engine bots. This advice is directly given on the developers.google.com page. You can find many other tips there. 

Considering the future technological developments and the new applications, the world of SEO is not about to get bored! 

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Article written by Emie Grimaud-Hachin, CAWEB Master’s