Increasingly, consumers are relying on smartphones and other devices for key information-gathering and purchasing decisions. So if your SEO marketing strategies are still geared predominantly for laptop or desktop users, your business is missing out on an enormous opportunity for growth through mobile marketing.
Here are tips to keep in mind for a successful mobile marketing strategy:
1. Make sure your website design is responsive and mobile-friendly. Any design element that slows loading speed on a mobile device or otherwise negatively impacts the mobile user’s experience of your website should be jettisoned right away. This means ensuring that navigation is quick and user-friendly, while eliminating unnecessary design features like flash, large images, fancy fonts, etc.
Users favor websites equipped with a responsive design (including images, navigation, content and text size) that adapts automatically to their mobile device.
2. Offer content that’s short, concise and easy to scan. Focus on creating content that’s short and to the point, and most likely to answer a customer’s questions on-the-go. The longer someone has to search for the content they want, the less inclined they are to stay on your website. Remember–people are viewing your site on a small screen. What good is your great content if they can’t quickly and easily scan it?
Speaking of user-friendly content, one of the best strategies for helping a user’s local search is to always keep your address and contact information up-front and highly visible. With so many customers using their mobile devices to search for restaurants, theaters, shops, etc., this key information should never be difficult to find.
3. Keep the same URL for mobile and desktop sites. You don’t want users to wait for a redirect to load on their device. Also, a single URL enables users to share the content they find on your site through social media. Finally, with a single site, every link points to that one URL, enhancing its value to Google.
4. Use keywords that work for mobile searches. Customers searching for information on a smartphone frequently use different (and fewer) keywords than those conducting a search on their laptops. Research and incorporate shorter keywords as part of a mobile SEO strategy.
Another tip: Mobile users rely more often on predictive text than their laptop counterparts. Set up keywords to anticipate most frequently used predictive phrases.
5. Consider emerging search methods. Mobile users are becoming more accustomed to the use of conversational and voice searches, which can affect the keywords chosen for SEO purposes. A conversational search often involves asking an entire question, rather than typing in a word or phrase, so incorporate these new search methods in your mobile marketing strategy.
6. Make it easy for users to connect with social media. It’s probably safe to say that the vast majority of smartphone customers use their device to connect to social media sites. By including links to your mobile website on your own social media pages, you offer people an easy way to connect with your site, where they can investigate your products or services. Anything that helps to get prospective customers to your website will benefit your business.
