MSEO: Tips for Mobile Search Engine Optimisation

It`s been making headlines in search engine news for some time now, but many people, SEO`s included, still aren`t aware of how big the mobile revolution really is. And it is huge. Smartphone sales are rising and even regular cell phones are starting to incorporate a limited range of smartphone-like capabilities to support internet functions. It`s time that search engine optimisers pulled their noggins out from the sand and addressed the mobile phenomenon head-on.

The very first thing that SEOs need to realise is that people don`t want their pc (or laptop) web experiences to be replicated on their mobile phones. They want a whole new experience that is far simpler and more relevant than the current levels of desktop searching. And that is where SEO can either come into its own or fall apart completely.

As with desktop SEO, keywords are crucial, but mobile SEO requires keywords to be shorter and more relevant than they`ve been before. Many search engines (Google) offer predictive search options based on the first few letters or the first word of a mobile search. This makes it infinitely easier for users, who then don`t have to wage war with little keys but can scroll up or down to select the phrase that they want. Location also becomes very important in mobile search, particularly because many mobile searchers use their phones while on the move and need information relevant to their immediate surroundings.

In a guest post on searchnewz.com, Pierre Far says that SEOs should avoid URLs (and keyphrases) that make repeated use of the same phone key, such as BBC, CNN and MONO. These take time are likely to frustrate already impatient mobile users. But for many established companies this means creating a whole new domain specifically for mobile purposes, which they are understandably reluctant to do. Other SEO experts (i.e. those working at Media Vision) believe that a far more practical solution would be to simply make sure that your original site is structured correctly for mobile use, which would then load easily on mobile phones. Another alternative is to implement redirects, so that mobile searchers are redirected to mobile compliant site from the original.

Far also emphasises the importance of keeping your mobile site pages short and simple because cell phones, even high-falutin` smartphones, aren`t capable of dealing with big flashy sites with lots of images and aeons of text. He recommends that you place your most important information at the top of the page and wind your way down to the fluffy details. So if, for whatever reason, the download gets interrupted, at least your key message still gets relayed. CSS is a must, while flash and Javascript are definite no-go zones.

Mobithinking.com also has a lot to say about mobile SEO, with particular emphasis on the findability and accessibility of your site. For your site to be easily findable for users, it first has to be found by crawlers, which basically means that you should use only valid XHTML code and ensure that you adhere to the principles laid out by the WC3 and dotmobi. Navigation is also more important on mobile phones than desktops simply because it is more difficult on mobile phones. Mobile screens are smaller and the keys are more finicky, so traversing a site to find relevant information can be righteous pain in the nethers. Easy to use internal links can mean the difference between mobile success and a slow and painful mobile death.

Sean Owen, from Google`s mobile search site, says that interoperability is one of the key factors in mobile SEO. And this means external links - preferably to other well-structured, easy-to-find mobile sites.

The easiest way to ensure that your site is mobile-friendly is to get to know the mobile environment, and the best way to do that is to get a few web compliant mobile phones (different models to see how pages load on different phones) and mess around with them. Load mobile sites to see which ones work and which don`t, and test your site for mobile ease of use. For emerging technology such as this, the best way to learn is through experience, and with so many phones with so many applications on the market, learning your way around mobile SEO is bound to be fun as well as informative.