Optimising Your Website For Mobile Search

Aug. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- Survey figures clearly show that consumers are embracing mobile search!  More than 400 million internet users currently access the web exclusively via their mobile phones. This now surpasses those who use computer browsers. By 2011, estimates forecast that 86 per cent of all mobile internet use will be for mobile search.

How does this impact on the future of website design; http://www.weprovoke.co.uk/website-design/ and website accessibility; http://www.weprovoke.co.uk/website-accessibility/ for business, especially SMEs currently facing challenges from the economic climate and their need to keep tight reign on overheads?

The days of almost exclusively focusing on optimising websites for maximum visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) on computer browsers are over. The widespread popularity of smartphones ( iPhone) and the launch of eReader tablets (iPad) are enabling consumers to instantly find and filter information anytime, anywhere. As search speeds up ‘on the move’ and  mobile search users requirements become acute, businesses need to maintain their brand identity; http://www.weprovoke.co.uk/brand-identity/ positioned and visible within their niche markets, even as their target recipients migrate to mobile platforms to engage.

The answer lies with maintained ‘organic’ search engine presence.  The good news is that as long as companies continue to invest in search engine optimisation (SEO), they should be able to obtain the same rankings for mobile search. Google uses the same PageRank algorithm to determine organic rankings in SERPs for computers as it does for mobile phones. SEO bridges the gap between the second and third screen.  

Already considered the most effective online marketing strategy for generating conversions, SEO will become even more critical with the spread of smartphones and mobile applications.  

There are three key considerations for your website when evaluating for fast, easy, user friendly mobile search accessibility:  

 Speed - mobile download speeds are slower, so ensure that your site is built with lightweight pages and limited graphics.  
 Software - remove Flash and Java. These protocols are not currently supported by mobile devices and carriers.  
 Formatting  - each device screen has a different size, so it is critical that your site is formatted for the most popular mobile            devices and platforms.


Remember – Google has just recently launched ‘Nexus One’, its own smartphone, aiming to expand their reach from PC to mobile phone and ensure their online products and ads get prominent placement on a new breed of wireless internet devices. In addition, their Android mobile operating system is currently being leased to more than 20 other new smartphone brands.

Also, there has been the recent  launch of  iPad, plus now,  the announcement by Apple of their new advertising platform, iAd,  integrated into their operating system to deliver ads to mobile apps. Bing and Yahoo, of course, also offer mobile search applications that may be downloaded to smartphones for rapid search results.  

Without doubt, rapid colonisation is occurring in mobile space. Mobile search is set to become another but powerful platform for devising innovative marketing strategies  to reach target audiences in the communications mediasphere, where information is highly interconnected from print to web to mobile. With consumers controlling how and when they consume information, irrespective of the medium, the key for businesses, large or small, is to simply continue optimising your site and content for search engines and visitors alike, to now find you on both PC and mobile.

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