How to optimise your website for mobile SEO

Over recent years, mobile SEO, or search engine optimisation for mobile devices, has become increasingly important. But what is mobile SEO, and how can you optimise your website for mobile SEO?

What is mobile SEO?

So first of all, what exactly is mobile SEO? Well, this is a specific branch of SEO that involves making changes to improve the performance of your website, and online content, for mobile users. This means optimising website content to be user friendly for people using mobile devices and tablets to access your website. With search engines like Google making mobile friendly websites a priority, and altering rankings based on mobile performance, mobile SEO has become more important than ever before. But what does this involve? And how can you effectively optimise for mobile SEO?

How to optimise your website for mobile SEO

There are a number of ways to optimise and improve your website for an improved performance for mobile users. These include:

• Responsive web design- Responsive web design involves creating a website that will adapt in real time to different screen sizes and devices, so that your website users, and potential customers and clients, can have the best possible experience when accessing your website from any device. As part of this, you should ensure that all of the important written and visual content is displayed correctly, and that no important content is removed for mobile users.
• Page loading speed- One of the most important technical factors for mobile SEO is the speed that your website loads. In general, mobile users expect fast loading websites, and this means that to meet this expectation, you will need to optimise images, load order, and reduce HTTP requests, along with other factors, to improve the loading speed of your website. Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool can help identify areas for improvement.
• Mobile friendly content- The content itself is also an essential consideration. Mobile devices have smaller screens than laptop or desktop devices, and this means that the way you display your written content, and your visual content, may need to be optimised. You could consider tailoring your content specifically for mobile users, by using shorter headlines, using shorter paragraphs or even lists, and removing pop-ups that can block the mobile screen and disrupt the user experience on mobile devices.
• Optimise for local search- Local SEO is something that shouldn’t be overlooked for mobile performance, as this can be very important. Due to the nature of mobile devices, mobile users are often more likely to search for businesses and products in the local area. As a result, you should ensure your website is optimised effectively for local search by including relevant keywords, creating a Google My Business profile, and putting your positive reviews on display. 
• Optimise for voice search- When it comes to mobile SEO, voice search can play an important role. Almost every phone has access to an important voice assistant, including Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa. This has led to a rise in voice search queries from mobile devices, and it’s important that your website is optimised for this, so that you can claim a high position in the search engine rankings. As part of this, you should consider optimising your website content for natural language queries. This will include using conversational keywords, and answering common questions related to your industry or business.
• Mobile friendly navigation- The navigation system used on your website is the main way that website users will find their way around your site, and find the information that they need. However, some menus and navigation options are simply impractical on a mobile device, and others can take up too much screen space, making your website look less professional. As a result, you should consider using a hamburger menu, or a slide out menu, for ease of use as well as screen conservation. 
• Mobile specific keywords- One important aspect of mobile SEO that is often overlooked is the use of keywords. Some keywords perform more effectively on mobile devices, and as a result you should carry out some specific keyword research. This can help you identify the relevant mobile search queries, and the phrases and terms commonly used by mobile users. This often includes more long-tail keywords and location based keywords, and so creating content based on this can help to increase mobile traffic, and even drive more conversions. 
• Optimise images and videos- For improved performance on mobile devices, it is important to compress images and videos to reduce file sizes without compromising quality. This allows the images to load quickly, even on small screens, without losing crisp visual quality. You should also consider using descriptive filenames, alt text, and captions to optimise any multimedia content on your website. 

Visual design for mobile SEO

As well as the aspects discussed above, like responsive design and optimised images, there are some other, specific, visual design factors you should consider for your mobile SEO. 

Why is mobile SEO essential for business success?

With so many mobile SEO aspects to consider, you might be wondering if this is worthwhile. Well, there are actually a number of benefits and advantages associated with mobile SEO, and this is essential for your success online, for a number of reasons. These include:

• Mobile usage trends- mobile internet usage has easily surpassed desktop usage in a large number of regions worldwide. This means that competition for mobile rankings is fierce, and if your website is not optimised for mobile users, you may struggle to attract enough traffic to your website. 
• Google’s mobile-first indexing- Google is committed to delivering excellent customer service, and this means directing searchers to the content that is most relevant, informative and useful for each search term. As such, they have developed mobile-first indexing, which prioritises the mobile version of websites for ranking and indexing in search results. This means that if your website is not optimised for mobile, it may be pushed down the rankings. 
• Improved user experience- Putting in the time and effort to optimise your website for mobile users can be a great way to improve the user experience on your website. This will help to enhance user satisfaction, increase engagement, and encourage repeat visits.

For more information or advice about mobile SEO strategies, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design. We are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing experts, and we work with companies across the North West, from Southport to Wigan, and even Manchester, to deliver web marketing solutions that really work.