Portent’s inspection of the best 25,000 sites unveiled the fact that nearly half of them are not mobile friendly. Many webmasters do not pay attention to mobile because they assume that there will be no significant differences as their audience mainly rely on desktops to get content. Another reason could be because they are not familiar with the benefits that those who have been in the game for long already enjoy.
Wonder about those who already take advantage of mobile websites and what the future has in store? There are certainly some lessons from Google’s actions that will help them starting April 21st.
Search Experience Optimization
In an old video, Matt Cutts suggested the change what SEO stands for from Search Engine Optimization to Search Experience Optimization. If Google intends to attract and keep more people it must create a more enjoyable user experience compared to its close competitors like Facebook and Bing among others. Instead of focusing only on ranking high on search engine results, try to add some fun aspects that will make your site the first choice among users.
People hate having to do extra work while trying to access content just because they are using their Smartphones and thankfully, Google sees the need to fix this nagging problem in this update for it is the holy grail of improving user experience.
Google updates are important for webmasters who must keep up with them in the following ways:
– Ensure that it takes a second or less for pages to load on various mobile devices. While loading speed is not the subject of this update, Gary Lllyes of Google says it is a factor that affects ranking and might be considered in future. As you work on page speed, also make use of tools such as Pure Oxygen Labs Mobile Page Audit to improve user experience and do not forget to fix ‘common errors’ as listed by Google. Pages that take too long to load or websites that do not provide content on one flowing page for example, are a major turn off for users who hate clicking ‘next page’ click here to read more’ or waiting ages for a page to display content.
– Google is now using content from deep linked apps to rank search results of users with the app. It is recommended that you add deep links to your android app to take advantage of this practice that could soon expand to apps that are not yet installed according to Google’s Mariya Moeva at SMX West. It is worth noting that SEO is not only exclusive to websites judging from the new ‘Google Search for Developers’, which shows content from apps as well as websites.
– Optimize for mobile assistants. Think of creative means of integrating email notifications with mobile assistants such as Google Now which help your business by assisting people to find exactly what they seek. Search World West and Mobile Mooxies Google Now presentations are great sources of information on the importance of mobile assistants.
– Structured data for inclusion into Knowledge Graph. Hummingbird helped people find results to questions especially on mobile devices but the Knowledge Graph is about making instant answers possible. Make use of the detailed tutorial provided by Google to learn how to do just that. Instant answers not only increase loading speeds but they also save on data costs for mobile users depending on their plans and providers.
2. Provide and Additive rather than Reductive mobile site experience
For many years people believed that simplicity was the standard for mobile web development. Provision of essential information was encouraged as it was assumed that mobile users were always on the move and had limited time.
On the contrary, it is obvious that most Smartphones are used at home when people have time on their hands, hence the recent trend of availing wholesome content on any platform. Proponents of adaptive and responsive design have encouraged this and they receive help from Google through penalties that include redirecting to home pages. Google’s penalties are dreadful for websites because it is extremely difficult to go back to ranking high in results and webmasters want to avoid them at all costs. These factors are truly the reasons why our generation can enjoy full website experience on their mobile devices.
While this is a great step, more needs to be done to incorporate unique features of smart phones. Most mobile devices have GPS, cameras, radio and other features that are not on desktop computers. Mobile websites therefore make it possible to use GPS rather than IP address, Google Goggles and voice search among other feats that were impossible on desktops or ordinary results. This age demands more than matching mobile experience to traditional desktop experience. You have to make it better for users to choose your site as they look for content. Creating a great mobile experience will certainly generate more links, drive traffic and delight mobile users as it did for Google Search.
3. Take advantage before it is too late
If you missed the clarion call to make your site mobile friendly the pressure must be piling. It is not easy keeping up with each personal headset or smart watch that is released and if you tried utilizing every new technology available your site may never become optimized for large groups of people. Hot technology quickly goes cold and people move on just as fast, the reason why you must make a wise choice all the time. However, being too wary and waiting too long is not the best approach for successful mobile friendly website.
Rather than scramble for each new technology, take advantage of the ones that remain relevant for ages after their announcement. Waiting too long before you take advantage of such resources will make your customers miss out and it will hurt when they move on to better sites.
There is no benefit of waiting years to utilize something that grows boundlessly with every passing month. We always knew that this day was coming and it is our hope that we will all think about better ways of improving searcher experience before Google announces them as a ranking factor.
This means if you can get beautiful photos of your products and services, then you will be able to present your offerings in the best light possible.
The right image appeals to everyone, including shoppers who may just be looking for something and not necessarily wanting to buy at that time. Good photos of your products and services could make all the difference. They determine whether a shopper will stay or move on to the next good e-commerce website.
Again, you don’t have to hire a professional photographer to do this for you. All you need is a little bit of your time to capture photos that will insight your audience to look into your products.
You should capture photos of what you’re selling from a high level of view, close up detailed shot, as well as photos from multiple angles. You want to give the online shopper a complete look of what you’re offering since they are shopping over the web, and the experience is different from that of walking into a physical store.
2) Merchandize Your Products & Services
Merchandizing affects your sales in a positive way. It’s helpful as it enhances the overall experience of the shopper on your site. Therefore, you should always group your products and services according to how they are often used, as well as items that are frequently bought together with each product.
For example, if you offer clothing, then shoes and sandals should be grouped together, separate from pants and shirts. This way, you’ll enrich a shopper’s experience, thus making their work easier.
Also, ensure that each product and service has descriptive information within eye level. In other words, don’t make them dig or try searching for information about what they want to buy.
3) Make Your E-commerce Navigation-friendly
Good navigation means users will find browsing your site a breeze, plus search engines will have an easy time understanding the structure of your site.
Good navigation means visitors can easily find whatever they are looking for, and they can even see related categories of products or services they are shopping for. Amid all this, ensure that the interface is so user-friendly that users can take different actions with a strong call to action.
This calls for a sitemap in order for search engines to understand your site better. Sitemap and navigation is all about visibility, and these are elements that search engines take into consideration when ranking sites.
Just organize your site into different category levels, then from there, break it down into sub-categories under the relevant category of products and services.
4) Customer Service
Customers love where they are treated with dignity, or where they feel their time wasn’t taken fore granted. Furthermore, beating competition these days is hard, and so banking on the seemingly little things such as world class customer service can help you emerge the winner.
To ensure that you offer world class customer service, make sure your site has improved usability, and that customers are guided, step-by-step, throughout the entire sales funnel.
You should be able to provide 24/7 email, phone or chat service for them to feel good. You can use chat services like LivePerson or even BoldChat to communicate with them throughout every step of their shopping process.
You need to offer support before, during and after shopping. This way, your customers will have more information about you, so they’ll be inspired to come back.
5) Optimize Your E-commerce Site for Search Engines
Optimizing your site for search engine visibility is a process that will drive in more traffic for you. The only way to achieve this is by ensuring that your site structure is user-friendly, and that you are consistently creating fresh content for your blog. In addition to this, you should make sure that your pages are correctly named with titles and descriptions that have keywords easy for the user and search engines to understand.
An example would be a site that sells running shoes. The site owner would want tor rank on Google for anything related to running shoes.
The key is to create fresh content for their audience. If they write about the latest running shoes in the industry, they’ll improve their visibility in the search engines, and also educate their audience as well.
6) Pay per Click Advertising and Search Engine Optimization
Pay per click advertising (PPC) is very similar to search engine optimization. The only difference is that you are paying for the ads on search engines as opposed to ranking through organic results.
If you are an advertiser, you can specify a group of keywords and pay for them. When a user searches for those keywords or even related phrases, your ads will appear at the top, in a box highlighted using a brown/yellow background (when using Google).
Many companies use PPC as a complement to their SEO efforts since PPC returns results in a shorter term period, compared to SEO. You see, SEO could be compared to an oven that heats up too slowly and takes a while to lose heat. On the other hand, PPC could be compared to a microwave that heats up too quickly and cools down too quickly.
So when you use PPC, your ads will show up quickly and fade off quickly when the campaign comes to an end. This means you’ll lose all the ranking for particular keywords you had paid for. Therefore, you need to decide how you’ll balance between SEO and PPC.
7) Use Social Media
Social media offers you the best opportunity to share quality content with your audience as well as engaging them. However, it might take too much of your effort when it comes to the number of channels you must pay attention to, and also how to use them properly.
So if you’re going to use social media and you want an easy time, focus on these 3 elements: Promotion, customer support and measurement.
You could use popular networks like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter to share your best content a few times a week. You can also use social media to answer questions your customers may have. By doing this, you are also listening and interacting with them.
Lastly, you want to measure your efforts to see what’s working and what’s not working.
8) Build a list through Email Marketing
You want to offer your visitors and existing customers something special to entice them to sign up. Offer them deals, discounts, or even exclusive specials in their mail boxes. Don’t forget to incorporate a variety of messaging in your emails to ensure a wide range of offerings i.e. promotions, products, news updates, content and so much more.
Building an email list will mostly convert subscribers into buyers. And when you communicate with them directly through their mail box, it builds a strong relationship, thus you have the power to retain them for a long term period.
9) Learn A/B Testing
A/B testing is described as the process of testing two versions of the same page of your site to determine which features are more appealing to users.
Therefore, it’s in your best interest to frequently test your home page, landing page, and other features as well – just to see which ones get the most clicks, which ones are converting and also which ones are leading customers to make it through the entire sales funnel.
Test one variable at a time, while keeping everything else consistent. Once you get hold of one feature, look for any sign of success. Most people test click-through rates or conversion. But the rule of the thumb is always to stick to one metric when testing. Realize that the purpose of A/B testing is to analyze your site and build it around the behavioral pattern of the user.
10) Use the Right Copy
Your website should use a copy that reflects your company’s voice in general. It should also encourage your customers to take some action.
You see, a highly converting copy will reflect the voice and tone of your brand, highlight features and benefits of your content and offering. At the same time, it encourages the user to take action.
To make it with the right copy, ensure that the tone reflects in your product pages, landing page, social media updates, email messages, and just about anywhere else you interact with your audience.
You can use A/B testing to determine which copy works best with users on your website. You can also use social media to test a copy since you can gain insights into the level of engagement, and also which content does best with or without a copy. Finally, ask yourself whether or not the copy you’re using is offering some value to your customers.
Woody Allen once said that 80% of success in life is all about showing up, and he was right. Marketing in the year 2015 is not far from this. Showing up when consumers Google-search your products and services; when they speak about you on social media or when you receive a comment or review, is what you need to do.
Show up brings loads of money. Just ponder over the following statistics:
80% of consumers search for products or services prior to purchase.
70% go through reviews prior to making a purchase decision.
68% start decision-making as they search for keywords.
55% more traffic, as well as 80%-plus more leads, go to sites that blog regularly compared to those that do not.
70%-plus search-clicks are organic.
Do you really need to be bombarded with more statistics to appreciate the importance of showing up and how it can reap you big bucks? No, I am sure you are already aware!
Google, review blogs, social media, other Web places, are all we turn to when making almost all 2015 life decisions — purchase decisions included. It is the reality.
Despite the myriad of opportunities offered by these tools, several brands still miss out by failing to show up. They leave cash on the table at the very focal-point of decision-making, at a time when the intent to buy is at the peak.
For a quick test: Google some generic non-brand name keywords best describing your product. If consumers cannot find you, then you do not exist. If you do not talk to them, then you are irrelevant. If your content is not awesome, then you are boring.
With up to 80% of consumers known to search for products and services prior to buying, invisibility is a much worse fate than failure.
Your sales are still going South despite your immense investments in ads, since just about 0.1% of online users are clicking on banner ads. The ad industry relies on impressions to count and charge; but 33% of them are not even seen by users. 86% skip TV ads; 44% of direct mail is never opened; etc.
A lot of good stuff is happening online, therefore no consumer enjoys unwanted interruptions. That is why marketing in 2015 and the future is not about interruptions when one is enjoying their content but being that content!
And the good news? New digital tools are enabling both individuals and businesses to reap millions on the Internet without a lot of costs in starting a business or promoting it. No more entry barriers; marketing has now been democratized.
Keep Away from Any Trouble with Google
Several reasons can explain your failure to use inbound marketing tools like SEO, social media, blogging, newsletters, etc to drive leads. Maybe you have already tried and given up after getting burned. But I guarantee you that it is not that it is not working for you, it is you who have not made it do so!
Or maybe you got in trouble with Google for some irresponsibility, like outsourcing your SEO to the Philippines to get on top of Google search for 10 keywords for some few hundred bucks, for instance.
Stephen C. Baldwin, the author of Net Slaves: True Tales of Working the Web and the Editor-in-Chief at Didit once talked of this. He has interviewed several SEO spammers. Quite sadly, they are all obsessed with fast money, are contemptuous of searchers cheated into consuming their poor-quality content, and rather strangely have the irrational belief that the law can never catch up with them.
And the good news? Marketers using smart SEO tactics actually get more profits in the long run compared to those who use crude and risky optimization approaches of the past.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of SEO
For many years now, SEO practitioners have massively bombarded the Web with poor quality and spam content; breaking directories, keyword-stuffing of content, spamming blog comments, buying and trading links to cheat Google algorithms into pushing their mediocre content to the top of keyword rankings, etc. This was bad, and oftentimes very ugly, but well, it worked! I like to call it the Wild West Era of SEO.
Google released their first major anti-spamming algorithm — known as Panda — in 2011. Before that, you could get on top of Google searches by purchasing links and banging out loads of low-quality content. This and other recent algorithm updates, including Penguin, have rendered obsolete almost all the dirty SEO tricks of old.
But you still need to know how search algorithms function if your content has to perform on Google or even Facebook Graph Search. The game changer? Rather than merely being concerned about keywords, as marketers we also have to optimize our content such that it relates to those who are typing it into the search box, i.e. our target consumers.
Technically, the Google search algorithm is a machine that tries hard to think and act human. Nowadays, this is why social signals, the authority of the author and other kinds of user-engagement metrics are gradually becoming a major part of how Google is making decisions on what is going on top of searches.
Rather than chasing the Google algorithm, why not get ahead of it by putting your user first.
For 2014 and beyond, we marketers have to align our keyword strategies with user needs by laying more emphasis on the connection between web content and intent (i.e. the keyword) via methodical audience profiling, research, and analysis.
The Good: White-Hat SEO
Focusing on quality — quality optimization, quality content, quality relationships, etc — is key to SEO success. When you have quality, users and algorithms follow suit.
Quality Optimization: helps search-engine spiders understand your content via on-site technical SEO.
Quality Content: valuable content for your users is both linkworthy and shareworthy.
Quality Relationships: build strong relationships across your industry via social media so as to amplify your content and raise chances of gaining valuable backlinks to your site.
The Bad: Black-Hat SEO
For a significant number of SEO companies and consultants, everything came to a standstill in 2011. Even right now, a new business is getting sold every second on $200 hassle-free SEO packages that are sure to get them to the top of Google for some keywords. Whether you actually believe in fairy tales or not, there is nothing like a free lunch in the SEO world.
If you use any of the practices below, more harm than good always results:
Buying links: any kind of a pay link scheme or farm is a major contravention of Google terms of service.
Acquisition of low-quality links: This involves the manual creation of a raft of low-quality backlinks via directory submissions and commenting. Since Google knows better, you should too.
Spinning of articles: large-scale rewriting and publishing of low-quality content and garbage links across the Web.
The Ugly: SEO Spamming
Multiple forms of spam exist, and it is a major challenge for Google. They are therefore constantly checking out their search results for spam and trying to filter them.
Google can flag you for spamming or even thrown you out of their index if you practice the following spammy SEO techniques:
Using fake accounts, comments or user reviews: this can also get you fined or even sued.
Spammy content: stuffing of keywords, doorway pages, or use of hidden or invisible text straight from a 1990s playbook are some of the tactics here.
Spam blogs: these are built on stolen duplicate content containing thousands of very useless webpages. Such sites are built only for monetization with no value whatsoever to users.
Just 1 year after Google slapped the mobile experience with an algorithmic premium, things aren’t looking any different. In fact, Google plans to release new tools that will help webmasters improve their websites for mobile use.
When the search giant decided to make it mandatory for websites to be mobile friendly, a lot of businesses suffered immensely from this drastic change and that’s because their websites weren’t mobile friendly. However, those that were mobile friendly were rewarded with an increase in rankings.
Based on information from a study conducted in July of 2015 by Adobe, websites that were not mobile friendly saw a twelve percent plug in traffic. It seems that small businesses were the ones that had to suffer the most because of this change, since only 1/3 of them had mobile friendly websites (according to eMarketer).
It’s important for Google to actually focus on mobile because more than 50% of its traffic comes from mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. This means that if people don’t have a positive experience when they click on a mobile search engine results page link, then they’re going to immediately leave the page and also look for a better search engine.
In fact, a survey conducted by Google in 2015 shed light on how bad the situation is. The discovered that up to 29 percent of smartphone users left Google because it didn’t satisfy their needs (slow download times and lack of info).
On top of that, many other studies confirm that even a load increase of 1s can lead to an eleven percent decrease in page views, a sixteen percent decrease in satisfaction and a seven percent decrease in conversions.
Because of that, websites are now optimized for mobile use and there are in fact 2 main reasons why it’s vital for any online business to do the same: search engine ranking and better customer experience.
When Panda was released in 2011, Google permanently changed their algorithmic signal in order to include both quality and relevance. What this means is that if a website fails to provide a great customer experience, then it won’t be able to shoot up in the SERPs. That also means that even if the website ranks highly in the SERPs, it won’t automatically lead to a greater user engagement.
But UI and IA are hard. Because of their cumbersome keyboard entry, small screen size and mobility, users interact with their mobile devices a lot differently than they do with a desktop computer or a laptop. What this means is that they don’t have patience for anything that’s slow, irrelevant and non-intuitive.
If you make your website mobile friendly, then you can easily use one URL for it and have the peace of mind that the UI is going to adjust based on the type of device users access your website with.
However, there are still a lot of websites out there that need zoom on mobile or horizontal scrolling and the truth is that layouts need to be viewable on mobile devices with no such shortcomings. You need to ensure that no matter the device the user decides to access your website from, the loading times need to be low and your website needs to also have a very simple and intuitive UI. There’s also a positive side to all of this and that is the fact that a lot of brands are already investing in mobile strategies and optimization in order to crush their competition. Better yet, it seems that most people who use a mobile device to shop and research will eventually become customers.While Google’s new tools may make some businesses worry, that’s not what the search giant intends to do. In fact, their tools will allow them to easily check various stats about their website and make the required changes in order to improve ranking. No more will you be able to keep having a non-mobile friendly website, since the longer you keep it that way, the more Google is going to penalize you.
Based on information from the Internal Consumer Affairs, 93 percent of these people will make a purchase within two to four hours compared to one to three days for desktop users.
When developing a user interface, it’s important that developers consider the way users engage with their devices. Therefore, you should hold the device in your hand, walk through some of the websites you visit on your phone and then ask yourself the questions below:
Where are the menu items placed on the mobile user interface and does your hand properly align with the calls to action and the menus themselves?
Is it simple to click and call the business?
Do you find it hard to navigate to a purchase or fill a form on the website?
Do you have to scroll far to get information?
Do your hands engage well with the website?
Does the website load fast?
Consider these questions carefully and then come up with a way to improve your website’s UI to ensure your visitors benefit from a better mobile experience.
If you want to have a high conversion rate, you need to ensure that users don’t have to use the zoom feature too much. Also, the links should be spaced properly and be clearly visible, while the tasks also need to be simplified.
For instance, the way Flipboard’s UI effectively aligns with their business objectives is one example you should follow. They allow people to share videos, images, stories and follow all of their interests in one place. On top of that, their website is intuitive, simple and fast and manages to get eighty two million readers a month.
In order to compete for high search engine rankings and mobile clients, IMs need to become mobile user interface architects and design a more relevant and intuitive client experience.
Mobile devices have now become the norm and a lot of us do banking, find dates and make dinner reservations on our phone. Mobile has actually changed the foundation of how consumers discover, connect and communicate on the internet.
Because of that, they have high expectations from brands to provide them a clean, intuitive and responsive mobile experience.
Just 1 year after Google slapped the mobile experience with an algorithmic premium, things aren’t looking any different. In fact, Google plans to release new tools that will help webmasters improve their websites for mobile use.
There’s also a positive side to all of this and that is the fact that a lot of brands are already investing in mobile strategies and optimization in order to crush their competition. Better yet, it seems that most people who use a mobile device to shop and research will eventually become customers.While Google’s new tools may make some businesses worry, that’s not what the search giant intends to do. In fact, their tools will allow them to easily check various stats about their website and make the required changes in order to improve ranking. No more will you be able to keep having a non-mobile friendly website, since the longer you keep it that way, the more Google is going to penalize you.