About five years ago, I attended a little conference for search engine optimizers and search engine marketers that discussed whether websites needed to be mobile compatible for SEO reasons. Meaning, whether website owners and SEO masters should focus on creating a separate website with a mobile format to make web browsing easier for those surfing on phones and tablets. Back then, a lot of websites were creating whole new websites with mobile in mind using the “m.” subdomain. They were often very ugly, overly simplistic, and most people opted to see the desktop version regardless.
At that time, the consensus in the SEO world was that we didn’t need to do this because smartphones and tablets were more like tiny handheld computers than phones from just a few years ago. Why redo all of that work and search engine optimization when 1) most users typically requested the desktop version in the first place and 2) the smartphone or tablet could display the full site just fine.
As you may have guessed, this is no longer the case.
Well, let me rephrase.
Smartphones can still certainly pull up full websites with ease. However, how people are browsing the web on their phones has changed.
Consumers aren’t happy about zooming in, zooming back out, trying to read tiny print, or trying to deal with a wonky format caused my mobile truncation and weird image placement. I can confess right now that I won’t read blog posts on my phone if they aren’t formatted for mobile. Maybe I’ll bookmark them for later to read on my computer or even tablet, but I can’t guarantee I’ll even remember. The attention span of the Internet is so finite.
As Google wants to do everything it can to make the search experience better and more customized for the user, they are casting a higher preference upon sites that are mobile compatible. If you have Webmaster Tools integrated into your site (which you should, by the way), you’ve most likely received a notice that your site is not mobile-friendly, if that is the case. Every reason why your site is not mobile friendly, such as small text or links too close together, is a ding on your search engine record. This will not only affect your search rankings in the mobile realm, but also in the desktop world. Google has no desire to promote your site if it is not pleasing to all of its spiders in every possible way.
So what can you do to make your site mobile friendly for SEO?
First, ignore how this site is, at the present moment, not mobile compatible. Ever hear about the landscaper who never mows his own lawn? Yeah, this is kind of one of those situations. I’ll get there. But this isn’t about me; this is about your site.
If you use WordPress, there are some really easy options available. Many themes, especially those using Studio Press’s Genesis Frameworks, are already mobile compatible, so there is nothing extra you have to do. Piece of cake, right?
If you don’t have one of these themes and redesigning your site isn’t feasible right now, then there are a couple of WordPress plugins that make mobile compatibility easier to obtain. One is WP Touch, which instantly puts your site into a mobile framework featuring your blog posts. If your site isn’t blog post-focused, then consider WP Mobile, which allows for easy creation of mobile-formatted pages. This option takes more time, but it’s still easier than redesigning your entire website.
If you don’t have a WordPress site, do not despair. Plenty of content management systems (CMS) have various plugins to help make the mobile transition as painless as possible.
Do I need to use the “m.” subdomain?
That’s completely up to you, but for the most part, it is not necessary. However, I do highly suggest that whatever you do to create those mobile pages, make sure you include an option for users to switch to the desktop version if they wish.
Now that I’m full of super helpful information for all of you and your sites, it’s time for me to actually make this website mobile. I should be more embarrassed.
Aren’t sure if your website is mobile friendly?
Here’s a great little test URL straight from Google that will tell you how mobile friendly your site is.
Do you need help making your website mobile friendly?
Contact me and I can definitely help you out!
Leave a Reply