searchlove london 2016 | bridget randolph | the changing landscape of mobile search
TRANSCRIPT
“We used to talk about whether or not we were in the year of mobile…
but we are actually in
the Age of Mobile.”
A brief jaunt down memory lane
2000-2012:total internet usage vs mobile data usage
12x
Source
2013’s big question:
“What should my mobile strategy be?”
What does this mean for mobile search?
And sure enough, in 2016...
Mobile has become the preferred way
to browse the web.
Proof: the story from the stats. Ben Evans.
It wasn’t always like this.
It’s because this happened
2008
Source
It’s because this happened
2008
Source
2016
It’s because this happened
2008
Source
2020
2016
now,
52% of UK internet users say that
mobile is their primary way to access the web.
up from only
24% in 2013.
Ben Evans, 2015
“It’s actually the PC that has the limited, basic, cut-down version of the internet...it only has the web.”
We used to talk about mobile being used “on the go”, and
desktop for “work” and “home”.
Now we recognize that mobile is used in all different
environments and contexts, and often simultaneously with
other devices.
We used to talk about how to prevent showrooming.
...that ship has sailed.
OH WELL
welcome to...
The Changing Landscape of Mobile Search
Bridget Randolph
User Behaviour
Technological Advances
Ranking Factors
(Google)Search
MarketingReactiveApproach
4 key shifts for Google
Mobile First Mobile
Friendliness
App Integration with Web
Search
Page Load Times and
AMP
Mobile Friendliness as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed and
Page Load Times
App Integration with Web
Search
Mobile First Design of
SERPs
#1
Mobile FirstMobile
Friendliness
Page Load Times and
AMP
Making Desktop ExperienceMore Like Mobile Experience
The old “Google” - listing style
The new “Google” - card style
No more sidebar ads
Content
has to become
more flexible.
In the news
First step(s):
- Account for it in your reporting and tracking
- Consider creating more top-of-funnel landing pages
- Optimize for instant answers and enhanced search -
structured data, rich snippets
Take action
- Look for Universal Results reports in common tracking
tools, including
- STAT Analytics
- SEMRush
- Brightedge
- Structured data testing tool
- Content Everywhere by Sara Wachter-Boettcher (2012)
Tools and tips
● Better integration of content within apps○ Opening developer access to iMessages, Maps
● Cross-device integration○ Universal Clipboard on OS
○ Siri remote for AppleTV
○ ApplePay on websites
● Less device-specific dependencies○ Android Wear 2.0 doesn’t require phone
○ Google Auto can integrate directly with car system
Where’s it heading?
#2
Mobile Friendliness as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed and
Page Load Times
App Integration with Web
Search
Mobile First Design of
SERPsMobile First
Mobile Friendliness
Page Load Times and
AMP
Mobile Friendliness
They started with a “positive” incentive
approach.
Google now provides all sorts of tools in Search Console and elsewhere to test mobile friendliness.
81%+ of the top 3 results are mobile friendly.
Google also announced a
4.7%
percentage point increase
in the number of mobile-friendly websites, within
the 2 months between their announcement about
the update and “Mobilegeddon”.
Source
First step: make sure your site passes the basic
mobile-friendliness tests.
● Mobile Friendly Testing Tool
● Search Console Mobile Usability Report
● Separate tab on the Pagespeed Insights tool
Take action
● use URL Profiler to check URLs in bulk with the Google
mobile-friendliness tool
● use BrowserStack to simulate mobile browser
experiences
Tools and tips
● Mobile first approach to rankings ○ Mobile page speed will be ranking factor
○ Mobile index will be primary index
● Content accessibility needs don’t stop with smartphones○ Google Home and similar devices
○ Android Wear 2.0 and other wearables
○ Smart cars and vehicle-integrated apps
● Mobile search is tied to voice search and physical context○ Optimizing for conversational search and geolocation
Where’s it heading?
Mobile Friendliness as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed and
Page Load Times
App Integration with Web
Search
Mobile First Design of
SERPs
#3
Mobile First Design of
SERPs
Mobile Friendliness
Page Load Times and
AMP
Mobile Page Load Times and AMP
40% of users will
abandon a page that takes too long to load.
3G Is the dominant network type worldwide.
even a
1sec delay was found to lead to a
7% decrease
in conversions.
In the newsIn the news
Facebook Instant Articles
Apple Newsstand
Native Apps
AMP is a set of rules
for developing webpages
which guarantees speed
and forces distribution.
It’s basically skeleton HTML
which allows the page to...
a) load really quickly
b) be cached by Google and served directly in the SERP
www.wsj.com/article-headline www.wsj.com/amp/article-headlinehttps://amp.gstatic.com/v/s/www.wsj.com/amp/article-headline
For the Washington Post, implementing AMP
pages increased mobile return visitors by 23%.
These AMP pages showed 88% faster load time
when compared with regular mobile pages.
Case study: Washington Post
Originally AMP was pitched as a platform for Google News and other editorial content.
But it’s now being supported more widely.
First step: decide whether AMP is relevant to you.
You should use AMP if:
● You make a lot of content, particularly editorial content
● You want wider distribution of your content
● Your industry has a high proportion of mobile traffic
● It’s compatible with your business model
Take action
Next step: AMP implementation.
● Create AMP supported versions of the pages you want
supported
● If you’re a Wordpress user, you can use a plugin like
Automattic AMP and/or Glue by Yoast
● For ecommerce sites, Google recently posted this guide
to getting started with AMP.
Take action
●
● Mobile-specific tab on the Pagespeed Insights tool
● Resource for running webpagetest.org speed tests multiple times in a Google
spreadsheet
AMP-specific:
● Google’s AMP validation testing tool
● Resource from SEW on AMP implementation for Wordpress
● Google tutorial on implementing AMP
● eBay’s notes on what went well and what was tricky in their implementation
Tools and tips
Where’s it heading?
● A single interface for everything - from first query to
checkout.
○ Using a personal assistant app like Siri or Allo to see a
task through from start to finish...
○ e.g. schedule a dinner with calendar, book a table,
order an Uber to the restaurant, and pay for the meal
Mobile Friendliness as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed and
Page Load Times
App Integration with Web
Search
Mobile First Design of
SERPs
#4
Mobile First Design of
SERPs
Mobile Friendliness
Page Load Times and
AMP
App Integration
Google needs to integrate app content
with the rest of the web
app indexation.
First step:
If you don’t have an app, you may not need one. Ask
yourself:
Would my app...
● Add convenience?
● Offer unique value?
● Provide social value?
● Offer incentives?
● Entertain?
TAKE ACTIONTake action
First step:
If you do have an app, make sure it supports http:// (web)
links.
And check out my blog post about how to set up an app for
indexation by Google.
TAKE ACTIONTake action
Must-have
Avoid pitfalls
Recommended
● Support deep-linking● Use web URLs for app views where possible● Register the app in your Search Console
● Allow appropriate URLs in robots.txt● Ensure first click free in the app
● Add markup to pages or sitemaps● Use app indexing API to:
○ Index personal user content○ Add meta information to app views○ Enable activities such as voice actions○ Expose popularity of app views to Google
Checklist for Android app indexing
Watch this space
Avoid pitfalls
Must-have
● Support Universal Links○ Add your domain(s) to associated-domains in app○ Add URLs handled by the app to apple-app-site-association on domain
● Use web URLs for app views where possible● Add GoogleAppIndexing registration to your app
● Ensure first click free in the app● Enable the back button
● Watch out for Google announcing an iOS app indexing API○ Enables indexing of personal content○ Allows usage information to be sent to Google○ Adds meta information
Checklist for iOS app indexing (Google)
● Bridget’s original blog post on app indexation (2015)
● Cindy Krum on Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
● Google guidance on deep linking and app indexation
● Introduction to Firebase
○ Cindy Krum’s Mozcon presentation
Tools and tips
Where’s it heading?● Blurred lines between app content and web content
○ Firebase as centralized app platform
○ App streaming and progressive web apps (PWAs)
○ Google Instant Apps
○ Single sign-on for Apple TV
● Greater integration between apps○ Pay for things in iMessage, ApplePay on websites, Apple Maps syncing
with calendar and location
● 3rd party developer integrations with Apple core apps○ iMessage, Maps, Siri
Bonus Round
● Mobile browser search (Safari autocomplete)● Mobile assistants (Siri, Cortana)● iPhone Spotlight● App store search (Google Play, Apple App Store)● Mobile chatbots (Allo, Facebook M)● Personal index (My Photos, Calendar, Messages)● ...and more.
The mobile search ecosystem today - beyond Google
● Google Auto
● Google Home
● Android Wear 2.0
● Apple Air Pods
● Siri on MacOS
Where’s it heading?
The future of mobile...
“My vision when we started Google 15 years ago was that eventually you wouldn't have
to have a search query at all.”
Sergey Brin, TED, 2013
“The [Google] assistant is an ambient experience that will work seamlessly
across devices and contexts. ...It builds on all our years of investment in deeply
understanding users' questions.”
Sundar Pichai, Google I/O, 2016
An Intelligent Personal Assistant(“Machine Learning First”)
● Assistive search
● Getting things done
● In your world
● Powers other services...
Google Assistant
● Case study: WashingtonPost
● Case study: eBay
● Case study: Onnit
Google Home
Allo and Duo
Personal index + public index + app content
= a single interface for all searches
a single interface for all searches+ implicit context+ machine learning+ artificial intelligence
= intelligent personal assistant
First Step:
ask yourself how you can prepare to be the most useful
source from a personal assistant app’s point of view?
TAKE ACTIONTake action
User Behaviour
Technological Advances
Ranking Factors
(Google)Search
Marketing
● physical interaction with individuals and
environment
● Device- and app-agnostic integration
● voice recognition and conversational interaction
Key themes in new technology
User Behaviour
Technological Advances
Ranking Factors(Google)
Search Marketing
www.distilled.net/searchscape
@BridgetRandolph@Distilled