Optimizing your website to rank highly for search engines is one of the most important things that you can do in order to make sure your content gets noticed by people searching the web for relevant keywords. The steps you need to take to optimize your website are constantly evolving as search engines perfect their algorithms and make tweaks to provide more relevant content to web users.
One of the biggest changes in recent years, which search engine algorithms have recently begun responding to, is a shift in how people access the web. In particular, people are not using laptops and desktop computers to conduct their searches as often as they did in the past. Instead, a substantial number of searchers are turning to mobile and are accessing content either on a tablet or a phone.
If you want to reach mobile web users, and ensure you don’t hurt your overall SEO strategy, it’s vital that you keep pace with the times… and that means ensuring that your website and content are all optimized for mobile. Three key reasons why it’s imperative that your site is mobile-friendly include the following:
1. More customers are using mobile to access the web
Mobile devices, including phones and tablets, account for more than half of all Internet use in the United States, according to CNN Tech. As the tablet and smartphone market have rapidly expanded, more and more web users are turning away from their laptops and using other devices to conduct searches.
If your site is optimized for desktop and laptop traffic but not for mobile use, you could be missing out on reaching more than half of your potential audience. You do not want to limit the reach of your sites to the increasingly small number of individuals who use traditional computing devices to access the web.
2. Google recommends mobile responsiveness for best practices
Google support announced that Google search started considering “mobile-friendless” as a “ranking signal” beginning in April of 2015. Google warned web developers that mobile-friendliness could have a “significant impact” on the search results that users see when searching on different devices.
This means that if your website isn’t mobile friendly and someone searches for a relevant keyword on a tablet or phone, your site could rank very low in the search results – even if it’s a great site and you have done everything else right to optimize it.
3. Your site will load faster and users will spend more time on it when accessing it from a tablet if it is optimized for mobile
A website that is not optimized for mobile can be a nightmare to load on a tablet or a phone. Slow load times are just the beginning. Navigating the website could be impossible, and users could be turned off by long blocks of text that are too difficult to read.
You don’t want someone who has found your website on a mobile search to click away in frustration- especially if that person is a potential client who is looking for services and who ends up reaching out to a competitor with a mobile website that was easier to navigate. You should ensure that your site is optimized for mobile so browsers can find the information they need -and can be inspired to seek your help- regardless of what device they are using.
If you’re not sure if your website is optimized for mobile, or if you don’t know how to improve your site so it loads correctly on phones and tablets, you should get help from SEO experts who understand the importance of mobile optimization and who can ensure that your site shows up properly for every web user.
Rita Chaires
Director, Web and Online Marketing Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
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