Search engine optimisation doesn’t start and end with your desktop site; you need to consider mobile users, too.
Recent figures show that just over 50% of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices. That’s why it’s crucial that these visitors have a smooth experience. Otherwise, you risk abandoning half of your audience!
Google agrees with this notion; it prioritises mobile usability ahead of desktop, and failing to deliver this can negatively impact your rankings. That’s what makes mobile SEO so important.
To help you out, we’ve put together a quick guide to Mobile-friendly SEO.
Implement a Responsive Design
A website with a responsive design will automatically adapt to the size of a user’s screen. This is ideal for displaying your content in a visually pleasing way (on both desktop and mobiles). Plus, this flexible feature is also preferred by Google.
However, this alone won’t make your site mobile-friendly. In fact, there are various other aspects of your user experience that you’ll have to refine.
Eliminate Long Loading Times
Both Google and users expect your site to load quickly; if it takes longer than three seconds, searchers will abandon ship! Meanwhile, Google recommends that load times should be no longer than two seconds, as slower ones have a direct influence on rankings.
Our top tip? Try reducing your loading time by doing things like compressing image files and making use of external hosting platforms.
Create Mobile-Friendly Content
You must make your copy easy to read on a small screen, to create a stellar user experience for mobile visitors. Remember, your content will look different on mobile than it will on desktop sites. Big blocks of text will be harder to digest for those reading on the go, so it’s best to minimise these.
Ideally, you should aim to keep sentences and paragraphs short, then add headings to split them up. This will make it easier for users to navigate the site and find what they need.
Remove Irritating Pop-Ups
Creating captivating copy will only be useful if readers can see it. If it’s hidden behind an irritating pop-up, visitors could click away before even attempting to read it.
Not all pop-ups are bad but some of them are just annoying, especially on mobile devices. This particularly applies to those that appear instantly and block the information the visitor is trying to read.
For this reason, it’s wise to keep the number of popups to a minimum. If you do use them, make sure that the page content is still visible behind them and that there is an easy way to exit.
Learn More
If you’d like to learn more about enhancing your site’s user experience and SEO performance, read one of our other informative articles.
Or, if you could do with some extra assistance, get in touch with us today, to hear how our knowledgeable team can help to grow your business.