People are spending more and more time on their mobile phones than ever before. This new world of marketing has definitely taken everybody by storm. In fact, most one-third of the world’s total population uses their mobile devices to perform Internet searches. Take a look at some interesting data below. And it is even more fascinating to see how usage mobile varies between different parts of the world.

WHY CONSIDER MOBILE WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION?

• Improved User experience.
• Accelerated Download Speed.
• Better user engagement.
• Ranks higher on mobile-friendly search engines.
• Helps in creating a strong Brand Identity.
• Anytime, anywhere accessibility.
• Can be easily designed and re-designed, less restrictive.
• Cost-effective as compared to other apps.
• Integration with Offline Media through the use of QR code.
• More advertizing options.
• Help you attract both new, old and “On the Go” customers with hassle-free browsing.
• For local searches, the chances of coming higher up in the mobile search will increase, which can be really advantageous in mobile marketing.

BEST PRACTICES FOR MOBILE OBTIMIZATION:

• Make sure the website is ‘human’ which means that the website should be designed keeping ‘users’ in mind. If the site is
  difficult to browse through, it may lead to high bounce rate which can be a huge ranking factor.
• Use mobile-specific keywords. Keywords used for a desktop website may not give same results when used on a mobile
  website. [See : Google Adwords Keyword tool]. Phones are not used like PC’s. Use shorter tail phrases.
  
• Use Geo-Tagging: Most of the local searches are performed using mobile devices. So, it makes sense to have a specific
  location to your page before closing it. The best way to do this is by inserting “geo-location” , so that the search
  engine knows where are you and what your location is.
• Mobile Search Engines behave in a different way. That is, just as mobile users are different from desktop users, mobile
  search engines also behave differently. Check the keywords, content, layout etc while creating a mobile website.
• Be social first then Mobile. The users looks for “entertainment” and easy browsing and many users are connected to their
  social network via apps 24×7. So, while developing content for mobile users you may and foremost idea should be to
  ‘entertain’ them. The sites have to be visually appealing.
• Embed social media links on every page of your mobile website. This will increase exposure, traffic and user engagement.
  This will help boost your profits.
• Be thumb finger friendly. Use Vertical menus to minimize scrolling. This will make moving along the menu easy, when
  deciding which link to click on. Have a search box prominently available.
  
• Reduce large chunk of texts and images. Use bullet points and compressed images. This will also download faster.
• Develop your mobile website to ensure the best user experience possible. Don’t just use a ‘scale-down’ version of  the desktop website. A good example of this is Twitter’s mobile site:
  
• Create links to the main website (desktop website), so that the main website is not left behind.
• Lastly, use search engine crawlers to make sure that the mobile content is directed to the same mobile version that users
  are sent to. Doing this will avoid penalty such as cloaking.

Therefore, develop mobile sites for full engagement and an incomparable user experience.

Do you have any other tip that you want to share? Leave a comment.