When visualizing the SEO content for a website, it should not only focus on web users but it should incorporate mobile users as well. Pew Internet, a research center dedicated to study the trends and issues that affect the lives of Americans, has recently conducted a study that revealed the growing importance of mobile devices in the day-to-day exchanges of Americans. According to the study, approximately 47% of the American population use their mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to receive updates on weather and local businesses. With the growing consumption of mobile applications, businesses need to develop platforms that are suited for mobile use to accommodate a larger audience. Technorati.com interviewed Senior Web Strategist and SEO expert Lori Ulloa to find out how businesses can develop SEO content suitable for mobile platforms and here are the tips she shared:
1. When aiming to offer the best mobile user experience, Ulloa suggests creating keywords that are meant for mobile platforms. For mobile-friendly SEO content, get suggestions from Google Adwords and choose options that include mobile devices or mobile WAP devices to generate SEO keywords that are mobile friendly.
2. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets use a different structure and built so it is important to optimize a website for mobile use. To do this, redirect mobile users to a mobile version of the website. This can be done by using a subdirectory structure or handheld stylesheet which are useful approaches for link building too.
3. To maximize SEO, create a mobile sitemap. Sitemaps are extremely important to the SEO process because they provide a list of pages that search engine crawlers can identify or use. For mobile SEO, it is especially important if the build is separate from the main website.
4. Creating apps is not always the best idea. Based on the study conducted by Pew Internet and Life, not all mobile users use apps for their news and updates. In fact, a mere 13% of mobile phone users were reported to download apps. Applications should be created only if you have something unique and special to offer, otherwise, mobile users will simply look someplace else to get the information they need.
5. Finally, none of this would prove useful if no tracking capabilities are applied. Track everything – from mobile visitors to app downloads. Google Analytics is the perfect tracking tool but SEO-based businesses can also use information from mobile carriers, mobile operating systems, and mobile devices.
With mobile users becoming an important niche in the SEO world, it is essential to have a holistic approach that includes mobile devices and its users when visualizing the website user experience. Mobile users are a specific target market that should be catered to as they also affect the overall SEO strategy when it comes to how they search, process, and share mobile content.
