mobile usability & search
TRANSCRIPT
David Gerrard
MOBILE UX & SEARCHTHE INEXTRICABLE FUTURE
@callmegerrard
Mobile isn’t the future, mobile is now(and has been for ages)
43% 41% 16%
DESKTOP MOBILE TABLET
Internet Usage by Device
Google’s definition of mobile = smartphones
This does not include tablets, feature phones
or multimedia phones
Not mobile
Still not
mobile
THE MOBILE-FRIENDLY UPDATE
The update started rolling out on April 21st, the
whole process could take up to two weeks.
The impact will be
larger than both Panda
and Penguin
Unlike Panda and Penguin, the
algorithm will run in real-time
It only affects searches made from a
mobile device
But the effect on Android and iOS may be
different
At launch, it’s only
part of the main
algorithm
Local results, for
example, not
affected
It’s a
YES
NO
assessment
(it’s really simple)
It’s applied on a page-level basis
DOMAIN.COM
Page speed will
not be an initial
factor
A label is displayed next to mobile-friendly pagesWarning: some pages without labels may still be friendly
What we’re seeing so far…
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Use the mobile-friendly testing toolhttps://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
Who’s currently failing?Hint: loads of big players
Check your mobile usability reports in
Webmaster Tools
Account > Search Traffic > Mobile Usability
MEASURING IMPACT
Analytics, Analytics, Analytics
Custom Segment Conditions
Device Category: Mobile
Medium: Organic
Source: Google
http://ow.ly/M09iJ
Check Search Metrics
Check Mobile Search Queries in WMT
Account > Search Traffic > Search Queries
Just remember that WMT data is delayed by a couple of days
THE CRITERIA
THE CRITERIA IS SIMPLE
There are five main elements to follow
1. Avoid unplayable content*
(that means things like Flash and Silverlight)
* Basically, don’t use incompatible plug-ins!
2. Ensure content is not wider than the screen
Prevent the need for horizontal scrolling
3. Ensure links aren’t too close
togetherMake navigational elements easy to click
4. Text should not be too small to read
without zoomingThis is another funny joke
5. Configure the viewport
Include a meta viewport tag
<meta name=“viewport” content=“width=device-width, initial-scale=1”>
SOME OTHER COMMON
CONSIDERATIONS
Don’t use app interstitialsUse banners instead
Do not prevent Google from crawling
CSS, JavaScript and image filesThey need them to see your site correctly
Don’t block your mobile site entirelyUse rel=“alternate” and rel=“canonical”
<link rel=“alternate” media=“only screen and (max-width:640px)”
href=“http://m.example.com/category”>
<link rel=“canonical” href=“http://example.com/category”>
ON YOUR DESKTOP SITE
ON YOUR MOBILE SITE
Avoid irrelevant cross-linking
INCORRECT
example.com/shoes m.example.com
CORRECT
example.com/shoes m.example.com/shoes
Link to the closest equivalent page
Fix mobile-only 404sEnsure redirects are correct and necessary
Avoid faulty redirects
example.com
example.com/adidas
example.com/nike
m.example.com
m.example.com/adidas
m.example.com/nike
example.com
example.com/adidas
example.com/nike
m.example.com
m.example.com/adidas
m.example.com/nike
Think about page speed
carefully
ONE MORE THING
Where Google goes…Bing follows
BING JUST HIT 20% MARKET SHARE IN THE US
FUN FACT
FINAL THOUGHTS
On the subject of mobile-friendliness…
Take note of and adhere to Google’s mobile guidelines
or risk losing traffic
On the future…
Anticipate the changing nature of mobile search and
plan for relevant emerging technologies
Think beyond the update…
Plan for further emphasis on mobile usability in the
future