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Everyone seems to have a Smartphone these days, and more and more focus is being put on mobile devices that call, do email, allow you to browse the web, and more. With that, however, come some interesting changes to the world of website design and website marketing. Mobile devices don't see websites the same as computers do, mainly because the viewing area is so much smaller. To that end, many sites have created alternative websites aimed specifically at mobile users.
While this is great, there are a few challenges that come with it. First, you have to decide what content to include on the mobile page, how that content will be split up, and more. You also have to understand that these mobile sites aren't going to be anywhere near as detailed or complex as your standard web site. Most mobile users want something specific, and since many have only a limited amount of bandwidth they can use each month, they want that specific information as quickly as possible and by downloading as little as possible. This means no large images, no big blocks of text, and no fancy menus.
What this also means, however, is that a lot of the traditional SEO techniques aren't going to be viable. Writing large articles that incorporate keywords, for example, is counter-productive when it comes to a mobile site. So is it possible to make your mobile site stand out and get the attention of mobile search engines? Of course it is, but you have to know how mobile searching works and how it's different from standard searching.
First, mobile users typically don't want a huge variety of options. As stated above, they want to go straight to the content they're looking for. Often, they actually write their searches so that they're more specific. Rather than searching for “ringtones” for example, they often search for a specific ringtone or ringtones by a specific artist. They're also often searching for local results, especially phone numbers or addresses. Quick answers to trivia questions are also popular.
Another thing to take into consideration is that your webpage is going to be split up into several different mini-pages on a mobile device, and most users don't continuously click next to see the entire site. In fact, most will only click through two or three of these pages before giving up and either going to a different site or rephrasing their search.
The standard search result page generally includes ten results, which is why so many companies aim at getting their sites into the top ten. However, a mobile search result page may feature fewer results, so now instead of top ten you need to get your mobile page into the top five.
Finally, mobile searches, while often more specific, are also often shorter than PC searches. This is because people don't want to use their tiny keyboards to type in anything too long. According to a study, around 85% of all mobile searches contain only two words.
So what does all of this mean for your mobile website? It means that you've got to have it very, very focused on exactly what it's about. Instead of a wide variety of keywords like you'd use on a standard website, in fact, many say you need to narrow down your mobile site to exactly one keyword. Do that and you'll find your site getting much more mobile traffic than it did before.