In the next few years mobile web access, it is expected, will surpass the internet usage on desktops and laptops. Undoubtedly, the future growth trajectory lies in the vast wireless realm. Here are a few aspects, which need to be kept in mind, to ensure that your website is thoroughly optimized by following best mobile SEO practices:
Gear up towards meeting mobile user’s needs
First and foremost, you need to understand the fact that mobile Web users are mostly those on the move and thus will have specific requirements. They are more likely to be performing immediate task, time and/or location based actions. Your SEO efforts should be structured keeping their mindset in focus. The emphasis should be on serving a particular bit of information, which is updated and dynamic, in a hassle free manner so as to enhance the user experience.
Implication of user agent detection
User agent detection is a form of transcoding that takes your content and re-purposes it, if necessary, apparently for a more uniform surfing & browsing experience for different devices. Mobile search engines like Google Mobile and Microsoft OneSearch will reformat key webpages elements like pagination, images, maps etc so that they fit the target device.
What is the implication of this transcoding work? The sites, which conform to a more standardized format of mobile presentation, will probably do better in terms of search ranking. If you’ve a traditional site, with relevant mobile pages on an ‘m.’ or ‘/m’, the best option to handle this shortcoming in the smartphone search algorithm is setting up server-side user agent detection & redirection between the traditional webpages and their mobile versions. By having this in place, you can leverage the traditional pages, which rank in mobile search, yet offer a mobile-friendly experience.
The key aspect of user-agent detection and redirection is their benefit for the user to make their viewing and reading experience as seamless as possible irrespective of the device – a computer, tablet, a feature phone or smartphone. How you do this will largely be decided by the intricacy of your site; those with loads of functionality may require more attention than mostly static sites.
In terms of user-agent detection/ redirection, plan on redirecting most devices with a 240 x 320 or higher screen resolution. This you can do on the server and/ or with a CSS media query. Combine it with a query to check if the device is touch-capable. It will look as below:
if(window.Touch) { /* JavaScript for your touch interface */ }
Site owners should ideally seek help of experts in order to increase leads, enhance conversions, and benefit from mobile SEO. The specialists will initiate some practical steps to help you tap opportunities that exist in the wireless realm.
