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Did you know that over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile these days? This means that it is vital that business optimise their websites for mobile users to provide a smooth user experience. This will make it much easier to convert visitors into customers and help brands develop a positive reputation.
There has also been a seismic shift in the world of search engine optimisation (SEO) this year with Google’s shift to mobile-first indexing. In July 2024, Google started using the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking purposes. So, what can you do to achieve mobile-first SEO success? Keep reading to discover the best practices for mobile-first SEO that will help you climb the SERPs and provide a smooth experience for website visitors no matter what device they are using.
Responsive Design vs Dynamic Serving
First, you need to have an understanding of responsive design and dynamic serving. These days, Google recommends responsive design for mobile SEO, as content will be adapted to fit any screen through CSS. This will provide users with a smooth experience no matter what device they are using. Here are the main factors to consider with responsive design and dynamic serving:
Responsive design: Responsive design involves providing the exact same HTML no matter what device is used. This simplifies content updates and minimises mobile SEO issues, helping businesses to improve their ranking.
Dynamic serving: Dynamic serving differs in that a tailored HTML is delivered to each device. This can be helpful in terms of improved loading times, but it can also create inconsistencies in how content is crawled and indexed. This could harm your SEO efforts if mobile content is different from desktop.
Therefore, businesses should be investing in responsive design in order to improve mobile SEO and improve the user experience - this is key for retaining customers and developing a positive reputation during a time when most web traffic comes from a mobile device. By embracing responsive design, you can provide the best experience for mobile users while also improving your search engine ranking.
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
AMP is an open-source framework developed by Google that optimises pages on mobile, allowing for faster loading times. These days, web users will not wait around for a website to load, so it is vital that you provide fast loading times no matter what device is being used.
In addition to the user experience, improving the loading times can improve your visibility on search engines as Google prioritises AMP-enabled pages. Although it is not a direct ranking factor, AMP can lead to a better SERP position by improving the UX and reducing bounce rates.
Implementing AMP could give your business a competitive edge over those without it. Statistics show that the probability of bounce increases by 32% as page load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds, so it is essential that you take steps to optimise your load times, with AMP implementation being one of the most effective methods.
Mobile Usability & User Experience
Google prioritises websites that optimise mobile usability and the user experience. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to key areas like navigation, readability, and loading times on mobile devices.
Navigation is one of the most important areas and one that many businesses struggle with. Keep in mind that dropdown menus and small text can be challenging on a mobile device, but these are both commonly used on desktop websites. Therefore, it is important to have tappable buttons and streamlined menus so that people can easily move around your website on a smaller device.
Readability is another key area to address. You want users to be able to read the text on your website without having to zoom in, but they will also not want to read a wall of text. This is why all content on your website should be clear and concise. A great way to make your content more engaging is to use bullet points/numbers and short paragraphs that are easy to scan.
Testing & Auditing Mobile Performance
Optimising your website for mobile-indexing is vital, but you must also perform regular testing and auditing to ensure that you are maximising your efforts and identifying areas where improvements can be made. Regular testing and auditing will be key to making sure that you are meeting the new mobile-first requirements from Google.
There are a few useful tools that you can use for testing and auditing your website. Popular tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs provide mobile website audits, which test key areas like loading times, mobile-friendliness, and indexing issues. These audits are useful as they will give you ideas for optimisation that will help you climb the SERPs while also improving the user experience.
Another useful tool that is worth using for testing is the Google Mobile-Friendly Test. This is a handy free tool that evaluates how easily users will be able to navigate a website on mobile with usability issues being flagged. This can help you identify potential problem areas and take steps to improve usability, ranking, and user experience.
Be sure to conduct tests and audits on a regular basis. In the hyper-competitive world of SEO, businesses need to be ahead of the curve and discover opportunities for optimisation that will help them climb above the competition.
Conclusion
The information in this guide should be informative and give you clear ideas for how you can optimise your website for mobile-first indexing. With so much traffic coming from mobile devices, it is not surprising that Google made the switch to using the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking. This underscores the importance of mobile optimisation and understanding the steps that can be taken to improve the user experience and search engine ranking. By understanding the value of responsive design, AMP, usability, and performance testing, businesses can achieve mobile-first SEO success and increase organic traffic to their website.
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