What is mobile optimization? When a website redesigns for smartphones with responsive web elements or creates Google’s AMP webpages, that is considered mobile optimization. Right now we’re in what Google calls the ” mobile first indexing “. What this means is mobile friendly websites get more user traffic and Google preference. Both Google’s AMP pages and responsive webpages are giving more precedence over desktop webpages, simply because there are more people using mobile devices now than desktop computers. Mobile optimization is an on page SEO factor, it’s directly in control of the website owner, and impacts SEO in many ways.

Some of the ways mobile optimization affects SEO is:

  • User Engagement – If users cannot use a website on their phones, or see a clear call to action, they simply won’t call. Many won’t even trust a website that doesn’t work correctly on the desktop, so why would this be any different on mobile devices?
  • Google Ranking Factor – Mobile optimization is a google keyword ranking factor, Google has said before, websites optimized for mobile get preferred treatment and rank better. Using AMP pages will help even further as well have a chance at being seen in news sliders above position 1.
  • Page Load Speed – Often mobile site optimization will speed up a website, especially if using AMP webpages which uses a reduced code framework to limit overall size. Fast websites not only improve SEO but also improve conversion rate optimization.
  • Popularity – If most user traffic is on mobile, not optimizing for mobile devices, wouldn’t have much SEO benefit would it? Only targeting part of your potential customer base is just bad for business and goes against optimizing a website for users.
  • Google AMP – Google AMP webpages are customized templates with minimal code to allow for faster loading of webpages. Google will give preference to AMP pages in mobile search by ranking higher and displaying a blue lightning bold icon next to the page in SERPs.

Currently, mobile search usage is the majority, leaving desktop search usage in a trailing second place. So when websites aren’t designed to be seen clearly on mobile devices, that’s a lot of potential customers to be leaving behind. Many times businesses don’t believe they can benefit from mobile devices since they believe their users only access via a PC. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, a lot of times, the initial discovery of a business is via a smartphone, with a follow up to research further on a desktop computer. Remember it’s easier to browse on a smartphone, but when research is needed, that’s where people still rely on PCs.

Less Is More For Mobile Users

When designing websites for mobile usage, when it comes down to content and menus, less really is more. People don’t have a mouse to get into fancy hover effects or need to fiddle with huge menus to scroll through. Many times larger menus don’t even fit on a mobile device, not to mention, the job of digital marketing is to steer users to the end goal of completing a form, calling a business or buying a product.

Is Your Website Optimized For Mobile First Indexing?

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