By now, you should already understand the significance of SEO in internet marketing. But, while traditional strategic SEO services are in high demand, you also need to optimize for mobile SEO.

In 2017, it was estimated that the number of mobile phone users will grow to 4.77 billion and the number of smartphone users will grow to as many as 2.6 billion by 2019. This could only mean one thing: there will be more and more people who will use their phones to search for info online.

While it’s common to assume that desktop SEO will be effective for mobile SEO, this is not actually the case. Desktop SEO and mobile SEO are two different things and should be treated as such.

Take a look at the 3 aspects in which both differ from each other:

1. Search Behavior

Using your desktop to search and using your mobile phone to search involves different procedures because your search behavior is also different for each one.

To start with, mobile searchers use their mobile devices to search at different times compared to searching for info on a desktop. Mobile search is often done by those who are on the go. They do not go to the phone’s home screen and enter search words. The keywords entered are also not completely the same as those of desktop searches. Make sure to incorporate mobile keyword research when doing your keyword research.

2. Engagement

This makes a marked difference between a desktop user and mobile user. A mobile searcher is highly engaged and because they are on the go, they need info quickly. With desktop searches, there is not a very high sense of urgency. The user can browse several pages in the search results as well. But with mobile users, there is a 90% drop in CTR for sites on the second and third page.

3. Ranking Algorithm

The ranking algorithms of desktop SEO and mobile SEO are very different. Google has set up completely separate algorithms for each to provide a much better mobile user experience. Google aims to give mobile users the same positive experience as desktop users hence the need for major algo changes.

Mobile SEO Tips

If you’re new to mobile SEO, you may want to consider simply hiring the pros to handle this task for you. But if you insist on doing it on your own, keep in mind these tips:

1. Your website needs to be mobile-responsive.
2. All of your pages need to load fast.
3. Include keywords that are mobile-friendly. Your focus should be head keywords rather than long tail keywords.
4. Location is a major factor for mobile SEO so make sure to prioritize local signals such as Google Places.

Keep these tips in mind and you should be able to reap the benefits of mobile SEO for your business.