Mobile optimisation work needs to be done soon
Mobile SEO is becoming even more necessary as the number of searches done on smartphones grows. An article, published in September 2012, said that about half of poepl living in the UK had a smartphone. It added that 59 per cent of these smartphone owners used them on the net on a daily basis. With further growth in the smartphone sector predicted, companies which fail to exploit the opportunities are destined to fall way behind their competitors. This may be especially true for online firms which try to make most of their sales locally because evidence suggests there is a possible link between smartphone use and buying local goods or services.
The rise of local search
A recent report found that about 24 per cent of searches on Google were local in nature. The research was done in the United States, but it may be that a similar trend is at work in the UK. Of course, the definition of the local may vary significantly and there may be differences between American and British behaviour, but there is often a pattern whereby British consumers follow in the footsteps of their American counterparts. The report found that over 16 per cent of the local Google searches were conducted on a mobile device. As mobile penetration increases, so it would seem that many more local searches will be carried out using smartphones. You need local citation services for UK and USA separately.
Smartphone users often act quickly
There are further incentives to get mobile search engine optimisation in place. Research has shown that searching on mobile devices frequently leads to action. One report even claimed that half of these searches ended with a purchase, while another suggested that more than half of the searches led to some kind of action within an hour of their beginnings. This kind of finding underlines why getting a site mobile-ready has to be an urgent priority. With PCs possibly going to be overtaken by mobile devices as the most popular way of accessing the net by 2013, there can be no good reason for delay.
Bad customer experiences will hurt a business badly
Although site adjustment is not something to be put off, it must obviously be done correctly. If a mobile user comes through to a site and finds it tricky to use then they will usually not return. Browsing on a mobile device can sometimes be tricky, so any site has to work well to get user approval. Content might have to be rethought so that the user experience is as good as it can be.
Responsive design: often the best choice
There are several design selections which can be made. For example, mobile URLs mean that different sites can be accessed by diverse methods. Responsive design is often the best option to implement. This approach cuts page loading times and makes it easier for search engines to read the site. Shorter page loading times are important because the typical mobile user is more likely to be in a hurry than someone using a desktop PC.
