Mobile SEO & Why it’s Important in 2018

Fancy eating out tonight and want to find a really great Thai cuisine in London? No problem just take out your smartphone and do a quick search, it will probably take you less than 1 minute to conduct that search.
Now think back and remember when we had to log onto our desktops, load up the internet, then do a search and filter through all the irrelevant information to find what you were looking for? How long would that have taken? 9/10 times we would of just dismissed that idea altogether and probably ordered a local takeaway instead.
Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives and for many they simply cannot live without them.  It’s the first thing we check in the morning and the last thing we check at night before going to sleep.  We even take it to the toilet with us that’s how much of effect smartphones have on us.  Smartphones have altered our lives and the way we do things dramatically so much so that they have essentially become another limb to us.
In the last few years smartphones have evolved so much with each update featuring the latest technology, so it’s hard to live without one in this day and age.
However, due to this advancement it has also altered the way SEO works.  This is not a bad thing it just means a few changes may need to be changed to benefit you.  With the amount of smartphone users in the world it was only inevitable that SEO would now be applicable to mobiles.
Our experts at Strategic SEO have researched and put together a simple introductory guide on what mobile SEO is and why it is important to you in 2018.
 

1. What is Mobile SEO?
   

   Mobile SEO is somewhat similar to desktop SEO in the fact that it is the process of ensuring that your website is fully optimised for visitor experience.
   The difference is that this now needs to be optimised on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.  The same goals are in practice: website performance, user experience and content availability – ultimately you want to convert visitors into paying customers.
   In 2016, Google released an article about the introduction of Google’s Mobile-First Index – This is a change to the algorithm of the website ranking system.
   Instead of determining the ranking of quality on desktop versions, Google will now determine it based on mobile version quality.  The reason for this is due to issues caused when evaluating content seen by mobile searchers, due to less content.
   Just as with desktop SEO Google will crawl through your mobile site and check against the 3 key performances listed above.  If these all follow Googles guidelines then your site ranking will be higher, if not you will be ranked lower.
   This indexing will be favoured over desktop, so if you are not mobile friendly it’s time to get a move on before you are at the bottom of the pile where no one can find your or your services.  In the next coming weeks Google will be moving more sites over to Mobile-First Index – so be sure to be ready!

2. Why is it important to me?
   

   As mentioned the amount of people using smartphones is increasing on a day to day basis and Google have agreed, hence the introduction of Mobile-First Index.
   Mobile SEO is imperative to your business not only so you don’t get ranked at the lower end, but also because it is starting to become the sole way for you to connect with your consumers.
   You want to keep your consumers happy and give them a great experience when visiting your website, so that should also be the same when they visit your mobile version.  If your website is not mobile friendly you will lose customers to the next company who is.
   Mobile traffic and digital sales are increasing year on year on, 58.9% of digital sales last year were down to mobile sales.  That is a huge figure that is due to increase especially when more and more sites are mobile optimised.
   Studies have shown that with the increase of social media interaction people tend to research a product or service before even entertaining the idea of purchasing.  Most times people are on the go and will go towards the first device in their path, with this in mind your aim is to have a site that as mobile friendly as possible in order to create instant purchasing decisions.

Our Experts at Strategic SEO hope that this quick guide on Mobile SEO has given you a better insight in what to expect in 2018, however if you are struggling or would like someone to take care of this for you, get in touch and speak to one of friendly experts who will be happy to cater to your needs and implement Mobile SEO.