Beyond a mobile-friendly site with mobile optimization

Mobile has become the norm online.  Go beyond a mobile-site with mobile optimization

Like you, most of the traffic to your website is using mobile devices.  In fact in 2016, mobile Internet use (51.2%) exceeded desktop use (48.7%) for the first time.

To address the increasing popularity of mobile online, Google released a mobile ranking algorithm to order search results made on mobile devices.  In 2016, they made a much publicized update to their algorithm to increase the effects of the results their mobile algorithm.

While using a mobile-friendly website is important for getting the most amount of traffic to your website, mobile is also very important for keeping traffic on your site.  Google has reported that people visiting a website are five times more likely to leave a site if it isn’t mobile friendly.

Ways to make your website mobile-friendly

There are currently three different ways to make your website content mobile-friendly:

• Responsive
• Adaptive
• Dedicated mobile apps

Responsive design:
This is an approach that suggests that design and development should respond to the user’s behavior and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation.

Adaptive design:
Is an approach that promotes the creation of multiple versions of a web page to better fit the user’s device, as opposed to a single version that other web design techniques use. Adaptive design encompasses a range of other strategies that can be combined with responsive web design.

Dedicated mobile apps:
This is software that is created specifically for use on a mobile device.  Dedicated mobile apps are primarily available for download from app stores, the main ones being Google Play for apps for Android devices and Apple’s App Store for apps for iOS devices.  This approach can often be more expensive because of development licenses.  Dedicated mobile apps are a viable solution when all traffic is through mobile devices.

4 reasons to make your website mobile-friendly

Most websites are optimized to work on mobile devices.  For those that are not yet mobile-friendly, here are x reasons to make your website mobile-friendly:

1. Mobile use on the Internet exceeds desktop use:
   In 2016, 51.2% of people online accessed the Internet through a mobile device versus 41.8% of people through a desktop device.
2. Google gives preference to mobile-friendly websites:
   Since the release of Google mobile algorithm, search results on mobile devices favor websites that are responsive to mobile devices.
3. Your users expect it
   With most people primarily using mobile devices to access the Internet, people are becoming increasingly impatient with sites that do not cater to mobile users.  Many users, myself included will leave a website that is not mobile-responsive if I can.  I absolutely hate having to zoom into a page on my mobile device to get the information I need.  With so much competition, I can find most of what I need on a mobile responsive website.
4. It is becoming a best practice:
   With the prevalence of mobile-responsive websites, best practices have emerged that define what users have come to expect in terms of websites accessed through their mobile devices.  Examples of best practices include speed, navigation, typography, layout and usability.

If your website is like those of your competitors, most of their users are accessing their website using mobile devices.  As a result, there are several reasons to make your website mobile-friendly if you have not yet done so.

While we have long expected for mobile use to overtake desktop use online, it is only recently that the transition took place, 2016 in fact.

Search engines and website users have come to largely expect for a website to be mobile-friendly. While the majority of websites are satisfying these expectations, there are far few websites that are ‘mobile-optimized’. As a result, I believe that mobile optimized websites can be a source of competitive advantage for their owners, at for the time being.

What is a mobile-optimized website?

A mobile-optimized website is a website that is designed and built first for mobile users.  Since for many websites, most of their traffic comes from mobile sources, a mobile-optimized site makes sense.

From the mouth of Google

Google regularly releases blog posts, research and promotional materials for their services.  Much of this material contains interesting statistics.  Recent information about mobile optimization that comes to mind includes:

1. Today, more people search on mobile phones than on computers
2. Over half of mobile users will leave a website if it takes more than three seconds to load.
3. People are five times more likely to leave a site if it is not mobile friendly.

What does this mean?

Since more people do search on mobile devices, mobile generates more page views.  Most people will leave a site if it takes more than three seconds to load because speed is very important.  Finally, since people are five times more likely to leave a site if it is not mobile friendly, a web site that works on mobile devices is also very important.

Google’s desktop search algorithm leads the way

Google’s organic search algorithm is in fact made up of several search algorithms including desktop search, mobile search, and local search amongst others. In May 2016, Google made an update to their mobile search algorithm to increase the effects of the mobile ranking algorithm launched in April 2015.

Google’s mobile algorithm favors web sites that adjust for smaller screens so that they can be better viewed on mobile devices. Dubbed “Mobilegeddon” by some in the search community, the change favored those sites that accommodated mobile devices and limited search engine results placements (SERPs) for those websites that were not responsive to mobile devices.

To summarize, Google’s mobile search algorithm:

1. Impacted only smartphones
2. Was announced two months before giving website owners sufficient time to prepare.
3. Showed that algorithm changes could be nasty:
4. Gave some mobile-unfriendly sites favorable search placement:

The last factor is significant and I believe likely to change as trends continue. While mobile traffic makes up most of the searches in Google, Google’s search results are still focusing mainly on desktop search results.

On average, Google makes 500 to 600 changes to their search engine algorithms per year. With mobile accounting for most search traffic, it is just a matter of time before Google’s search results come to reflect first mobile search followed by desktop search.

Beyond a mobile-friendly site with mobile optimization

More than two years after Google first released their mobile search algorithm, mobile friendly websites are the norm rather than the exception. As a result, there is no longer a benefit over competitors to having a ‘mobile-friendly’ website. However, I believe that companies that focus their websites on ‘mobile optimization’ can gain a competitive advantage over their competitors, for the time being.

Mobile-optimization

Mobile optimization is the process of ensuring that visitors using mobile devices have an experience that is optimized for that device. Mobile optimization incorporates many of the components making up good search engine optimization such as on-page optimization, link building and technical optimization but adds a few more variables into the mix.

Page speed

It is no secret that page speed is important for good search engine optimization. When optimizing for mobile devices, it is incredibly important.

While a page may load quickly on a WiFi network, it may load slowly on a mobile data network. Fortunately, Google makes tools available to help website owners optimize their websites for speed.

Google has integrated mobile results into the Google Speed test.

Google design for mobile devices

Google teamed with AnswerLab to create a study to define the principles of mobile site design. The goal of the document is to establish mobile site design best practices.

The study found that mobile users are very goal oriented and expect to be able to get what they need from their mobile sites easily and quickly on their own terms. The goal of good mobile site design should be to delight users and drive conversions. This is accomplished by designing websites and mobile apps with their context and needs in mind without sacrificing richness of content.

The results found 25 mobile site design principles that are grouped into five different sections:

• Homepage and site navigation
• Site search
• Commerce and conversions
• Form entry
• Usability and form factor

Homepage and site navigation

The mobile homepage should focus on connecting users to the content they are looking for. Fundamental principles include:

1. Keep calls-to-action front and center
   Feature your primary calls-to-action in your most prominent site space.
2. Keep menus short and sweet
   A shorter menu with distinct categories is easier for mobile users to navigate.
3. Make it easy to get back to the home page
   Use your logo as the navigation button to return to the home page.
4. Don’t let promotions steal the show
   Make sure promotions don’t interfere with navigation and are clearly distinct from calls-to-action.

Site search

Mobile users need to find what they are looking for quickly.

5. Make site search visible
   Please your site search near the top of your homepage via an open text field.
6. Ensure site search results are relevant
   Make sure your site search returns the most relevant results first, and implement smart-search features like autocomplete and spelling corrections.
7. Implement filter to improve site search usability
   Offer filters to help users get what they need from search, but make sure users can’t filter a search to return zero results.
8. Guide users to better search results

Commerce and conversions

The goal is to drive conversions by putting your visitors in control.

9. Let users explore before they commit
   Allow your visitors to use your website without requiring that they register for an account.
10. Let users purchase as a guest
    Offer the option to check out as a guest and encourage registration with tangible benefits.
11. Use existing information to maximize convenience
    Take advantage of information you already have, and/or use third-party payment services to make conversion as easy as possible.
12. Use click-to-call buttons for complex tasks
    Offering a prominent click-to-call button can keep users from dropping out of the funnel when they need to provide complex information.
13. Make it easy to finish converting on another device
    Mobile visitors may be researching to convert later, so offer a simple way to resume their journey on another device via social sharing, email or save-to-cart functionality.

Form entry

The goal is to make your user’s conversion experience as seamless as possible.

14. Streamline information entry
    Offer users a number pad for fields requiring number entry, and automatically direct them through form fields as they enter their information.
15. Choose the simplest input method for each task
    Consider if a toggle or drop down menu is the best choice for each entry on your mobile forms, and make sure that they are easy for users to tap.
16. Provide a visual calendar when selecting date
    Keep visitors on your site by offering date selection via a visual calendar with clear instructions.
17. Minimize form errors with labeling and real-time validation
    Use clearly visible labels to let users know that you need, and validate for errors if there is a problem before they submit a form.
18. Design efficient forms
    Minimize the number of fields in your forms, and autofill information wherever possible. Use clearly labeled progress bars to help users get through multi-part forms.

Usability and form factor

Details go along way, even on the Internet. Your users expect the small things that will enhance their experience.

19. Optimize your entire site for mobile
    Your site is easiest to use if all your pages are designed for mobile.
20. Don’t make users ‘pinch-to-zoom’
    Visitors can miss calls-to-action if they have to zoom in a site. Design your site so that they never have to.
21. Make product images expandable
    Include high-quality closeups of key images like product photos.
22. Tell users which screen orientation works best
    Communicate to users if your site works best in a certain orientation, but ensure your important calls-to-action can be completed regardless of orientation.
23. Keep your user in a single browser window
    Ensure your calls-to-action stay in the same browser window, and add functionality to your site that addresses why consumers might switch windows.
24. Avoid “full site” labeling
    Make it easy to switch between site experiences, but use labels like “desktop” instead of “full” to be clear and offer a complete experience.’
25. Be clear on why you need the user’s location
    Always make it clear why you need a user’s location, and how the information will influence their experience.

In Closing

Mobile devices have had a tremendous impact upon the Internet. Because of the rate of adoption, some would argue that it has been greater than that of the desktop computer.

There is no doubt that the pace of change will continue going forward. Google has responded with their mobile search algorithm. However, it is still their desktop search algorithm that dominates organic search results. However, this is likely to change at some point.

While ‘mobile-responsive’ has become the norm, I believe that there is still opportunity for website owners to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors by becoming ‘mobile-optimized’.

Mobile optimization is the process of primarily designing your website for mobile users. While many of the same principles in search engine optimization apply, there are other factors to be considered as well.

This post provides just a quick overview of the factors making up ‘mobile optimization’. More are sure to emerge as mobile web development and best practices continue to emerge and evolve.

If you need help with a mobile-friendly website or mobile optimization, contact us.  We can also help with:

Content Marketing for Local Business
Digital Marketing for Local Business
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