winning in a mobile search world #searchstarsse

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @orainti

Winning in a Mobile Search World



Since a few years ago, in a galaxy not so far away….


Smartphones have become the primary digital device



Which shouldn’t be a surprise right?


We might be a bit addicted


Mobile phones are a primal need now


Like, very very primal

Would you be willing to give up your Mobile phone?


For good & bad, our behaviour has largely changed with them


Since 2014 Smartphones have driven the growth of digital time spent


Worldwide


20% of ecommerce transactions are performed from Mobile devices

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttp://searchengineland.com/report-nearly-60-percent-searches-now-mobile-devices-255025

Search is also mostly mobile driven now

http://searchengineland.com/report-nearly-60-percent-searches-now-mobile-devices-255025


As a consequence, Google is moving towards a Mobile First Index

https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/11/mobile-first-indexing.html

https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/11/mobile-first-indexing.html


Ranking signals will come from your mobile Website, not Desktop one

http://searchengineland.com/faq-google-mobile-first-index-262751



It’s already being tested, and likely to happen next year

http://searchengineland.com/googles-mobile-first-index-likely-not-coming-2018-earliest-277074


At some point Google will switch to a Mobile-Only Index



Sadly, many mobile sites are not ready… (because they’re not really optimised)

ADSINTERSTITIALS


And they also hurt mobile user experience


Which also makes people to leave

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/three-ways-mobile-is-changing-canadians-expectations.html

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/three-ways-mobile-is-changing-canadians-expectations.html


Negatively influencing mobile conversions

http://www.monetate.com/blog/ecommerce-benchmarks-q4-2016


Causing a non-trivial mobile-desktop conversion gap


It’s time to learn some Jedi Mobile SEO Skills



I’m Aleyda Solis


I help companies to connect with them


#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @orainti#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @orainti

Some of them brands you likely know


Today, I’ll help you too



A correctly configured and accessible Mobile Website you must have



THAT WAS YODA ACCENT, DON’T BLAME ME



Responsive Web Dynamic Serving Independent Mobile Web

There are 3 main Mobile Web Configurations


Responsive Web Design, that uses CSSMedia Queries to reformat the same HTML


Dynamic Serving, showing different HTMLs through the same URL based on user-agent

Desktop Mobile


Independent Mobile Site, that serves different HTMLs through different URLs

Desktop Mobile


Each of them have Pros & Cons

https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/

Responsive Web Dynamic Serving Independent Mobile Web

Same HTML for Mobile & Desktop = Less

personalisation & speed restrictions

Different HTML for Mobile & Desktop through the same URL = More difficult to correctly serve

and maintain

Different HTML for Mobile & Desktop through different URLs = More difficult to

configure, serve, crawl and maintain

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/

But they are all recognised by Google


As long as they comply with certain minimal configurations

https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/

Responsive Web

Don’t block images, css & js resources.

Include the Vary: User-Agent HTTP header

Identify & serve the relevant Web version to the right user agent

Implement Rel alternate & canonical Tags between mobile & desktop URLs.

Implement 301-redirects between mobile &

desktop to refer the user agent to the relevant Web version

Dynamic Serving Independent Mobile Web


Google’s requirements won’t likely change with the Mobile First Index too

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.seroundtable.com/google-mobile-migration-24024.html

But if you’re looking to move from an independent to a responsive site, do it now

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

It’s then critical to verify if your site pages pass the Google Mobile validation

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Search Console

As well as if they trigger Mobile Usability errors in the Search Console


Use the Google PageSpeed API with URL Profiler to validate all your pages easily

urlprofiler.com

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintiSitebulb

You can also use SEO crawlers to verify all of your mobile Website URLs

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintiDeepcrawl

As well as checking the relevant mobile Web configuration

http://Deepcrawl

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Analytics

Use Analytics to identify the top mobile devices already being used by your visitors

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintibit.ly/chromedevicemode

Emulate them using Chrome to check how your most important pages are shown

RIGHT CLICK + INSPECT

http://bit.ly/chromedevicemode


“Is your Mobile Web effectively configured? I already start sensing the force….”



But also, all your content should be findable in your Mobile Web too



>

It’s usual to find Mobile sites showing less content than the desktop versions

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttp://searchengineland.com/faq-google-mobile-first-index-262751

But with a Mobile First index you should bring all your content & structured data


It’s ok to use expandable content by using CSS in this case

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.seroundtable.com/google-prepare-for-mobile-first-index-24052.html

But critical to make sure your mobile Web content is accessible and indexable

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/08/helping-users-easily-access-content-on.html

This is why bigger intrusive Mobile app pop-ups & interstitials are penalised


To refer to apps, is better to use app banners instead


Don’t do this!

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.sistrix.com/blog/pinterst-com-hit-googles-interstitials-update/

Or this might happen :(

GOOGLE POP-UP UPDATE RELEASE

BYE MOBILEVISBILITY

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintiScreaming Frog

Emulate the Googlebot for Smartphones and crawl your site w/ JS rendering


Verify if the mobile crawler sees the same than the desktop and the user

WHY ARE THESE RESOURCES BLOCKED?

HOW IS THE MOBILE PAGE

RENDERED?


Are there errors, non-relevant redirects, blocked or no-indexed URLs

WHY ARE THESE URLS RETURNING ERRORS?

WHY ARE THESE URLS

NOINDEXED?

ARE THEY CORRECTLY CANONICALISED?


Do the same with every content element, from titles to main text

ARE THESE TITLES

RELEVANT?

WHY THESE PAGES DON’T HAVE TITLES?


Do a parity mobile-desktop SEO audit to compare the crawler behaviour

https://moz.com/blog/mobile-parity-audits


“If all your relevant content is accessible & indexable on your mobile site, you are half-way there”



But your Mobile site content should also fulfil your mobile users search intent



Grrroaargghh?

Including Chewbacca’s Mobile searches


How do you organise & prioritise your Mobile Web Content?

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @orainti#mobilefirstseo at #TuringFest by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Search Console

Identify the queries already attracting more visibility in Mobile search results


Which are those bringing the best rankings, visibility and features to your competitors

Sistrix

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @orainti#mobilefirstseo at #TuringFest by @aleyda from @orainti

Compare your mobile rankings vs. your competitors

Semrush


Online Ideas & inspiration

Opinions, reviews & advice

Brand discovery

Product, price & features comparisons

Product availability

Online offers, promos & coupons

Take into consideration the queries made across the customer journey


Buy Backpacks NikeNew

ACTION PRODUCT BRANDCHARACTERISTIC

Sell

Reserve

Register

Rucksacks

Shoes

Jackets

Purses

Pants

Shirts

Caps

Adidas

Guess

Levis

Cheap

For Women

TYPE

School

Subscribe

Exclusive Travel

BabiesRed

For Yoga

New York

LOCATION

Around me

Nearby

Online

Used

Establish the most popular terms patterns


More Generic More Volume Less Relevant

Less Conversions

More Specific Less Volume

More Relevant More Conversions

ACTION PRODUCT LOCATIONBUY BACKPACK NEAR ME

ACTION + PRODUCT PRODUCT + CHARACTERISTIC PRODUCT + BRANDBUY BACKPACKS NEW BACKPACKS NIKE BACKPACKS

Action + Product + CharacteristicBUY CHEAP BACKPACK

Action + Product + LocationBUY BACKPACK IN NYC

Product + Type + Brand

NIKE SCHOOL BACKPACK

Action + Product + Characteristic + LocationBUY NEW BACKPACK IN NYC

Action + Product + Brand + LocationBUY NIKE BACKPACK IN NYC

Product + Brand + Location

NIKE BACKPACK IN NYC

Expand them to look for the most relevant & popular queries


Travel backpacks Backpacks Sale

Segment your queries based on their categories, characteristics, locations…

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintiGoogle Keyword Planner

Lastly verifying which are more popular from mobile devices

Travel backpacks Backpacks Sale


To prioritise accordingly


“It’s about fulfilling your mobile audience search need with your content information, format & organisation”



Last but not least, Your Mobile Web faaaaaast should be


#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/experience-design/mobile-page-speed-load-time/

Your site speed is critical to your Mobile users experience & conversions


As well as their well-being


Your users have a minimum expectation of 2 seconds


The average is shockingly higher though

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/data-measurement/mobile-page-speed-new-industry-benchmarks/


And consequences are devastating

#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @oraintihttp://www.thesempost.com/google-mobile-first-index-page-speed-ranking/

Mobile speed is only getting more important with Google’s mobile first index too


How long does the H&M mobile home page takes to load?



5 Seconds

https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/


… What about Aftonbladet?


6 Seconds


… and the Let’s Deal site?



9 Seconds


Sigh. What about your own site?


#winningmobile at #searchstarsSE by @aleyda from @orainti#mobilefirstseo at #TuringFest by @aleyda from @orainti

Use Analytics to see which of your most important mobile pages take longer to load

Google Analytics


Complement this data with the one of your own Mobile crawls


With Sitebulb you will get the pages and resources affected, along recommendations


Verify this for your top pages with the Chrome Lighthouse integration


Obtaining directly the resources that need to be optimised too


Check out also these actionable resources to optimise your site page speed

https://makefastsites.com/ & https://pa.ag/iss17speed

https://makefastsites.com/

https://pa.ag/iss17speed


The solution is to implement WPO principles to make your Mobile site to load fast

https://developers.google.com/speed/docs/insights/rules


But big sites have restrictive legacy systems & small ones little resources to improve it


That’s why Google launched AMP almost two years ago

http://searchengineland.com/amp-top-stories-now-live-243314


It uses a “simplified” HTML version with optimised resources & cache to serve it faster


AMP should be published “parallely” to your current (slower) Web pages

https://amp.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-gendry-olympian-running-meme-2017-8

http://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-gendry-olympian-running-meme-2017-8

https://amp.businessinsider.com/

http://www.businessinsider.com/


AMP is certainly much faster!

https://amp.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-gendry-olympian-running-meme-2017-8

http://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-gendry-olympian-running-meme-2017-8

https://amp.businessinsider.com/

http://www.businessinsider.com/


AgainOriginal Mobile Page AMP URL Version


and againOriginal Mobile Page AMP URL Version


AMP is also cached and pre-rendered by Google when shown in Mobile SERPs

Google AMP Viewer URLthat is pre-rendered

Canonical URL of the Page

Content served from AMP Cache URL


It’s faster than the Millenium Falcon



Although AMP usage is not a ranking factor (at least yet)


And Google won’t index AMP in a Mobile First Index


It has been made a requirement to be included in the News Carrousels


As well as shown in organic results

AMP article rich resultsCan be free-standing in the results page, or embedded in a carousel of

similar result types. All AMP article rich results are also rich results.

AMP non-rich resultsA basic, non-graphical search result

pointing to the AMP page.


All this has skyrocketed its visibility …


As well as the extra traffic sites can get from using it

AMP Rich Results

AMP Non-Rich Results

Non-AMP Results

More Mobile organic visibility and traffic from AMP than

non-AMP results


Incentivising its adoption, especially among big media oriented sites

Sistrix


Boom


However, I checked if Swedish news sites had implemented it, but I had no luck


So AMP is not a solution for your original site pages speed, but a “mobile Web speed add-on”



That’s why there are reservations: “AMP has a good intentions… but sacrifice the open Web”


It also provides an inconsistent mobile user experience when accessing from SERPs

#ampsuccess at #brightonseo by @aleyda from @orainti


You shouldn’t then use AMP as a silver bullet Mobile speed solution but an alternative in case you can profit from it


Avoiding this type of experience

https://thirtybees.com/blog/amp-is-bad-for-e-commerce/


Use AMP when your own Mobile speed sucks and you can’t improve it and/or want to be included in the news carrousel, doing the following…


Verify that your mobile Web functionality can be replicated by using AMP Components

https://www.ampproject.org/docs/reference


The goal is to keep the UI and functionality consistent with your AMP version

Original Mobile Page AMP URL Version

=


Avoiding this

<>

Original Mobile Page AMP URL Version


Don’t use AMP when you have an independent mobile Web… otherwise you’ll have this

Desktop Web Parallel Mobile Web Version with M subdomain

AMP version under the M subdomain

Google AMP Viewer URL

Canonicalize to

Generates


If you don’t want to keep your users in AMP you can refer your mobile Web version too


Verify the share and type of queries for which AMP results are shown in your industry


Identify which of them are shown along SERP features to prioritise and format your content


Validate your AMP implementation before & after launch with SEO crawlers to avoid issues

https://sitebulb.com/


It’s usual to be overwhelmed by the increase of AMP issues when launching

SIGH


Prioritise to fix critical issues first, which will be the ones preventing to be shown in SERPs

THIS


Track your AMP using AMP-Analytics and opt-in to measure your activity on AMP cache

https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/amp-analytics/?hl=en


These are just the highlights to maximise your results when implementing AMP


There’s more though: Here’s a complete presentation about it

https://www.slideshare.net/aleydasolis/setting-amp-for-success-at-brightonseo


But time is (sadly) almost up!


There are more Mobile First questions to address to maximise your visibility

https://www.slideshare.net/aleydasolis/setting-amp-for-success-at-brightonseo

What’s your Mobile

Audience Search

Behavior?

What’s your site Mobile

Search Visibility &

Traffic Performance

?

What’s your competition Mobile Web

Search Visibility?

Does your site have a

Mobile Web Version?

How Mobile Search Crawlers access to your

site?

What’s your Site Mobile

speed?

Is your Mobile Web Content

effectively Rendered?

Is AMP effectively

Implemented?

How do your ranked pages look in Mobile

SERPs?

What’s the AMP impact on mobile visibility &

traffic?

What’s your Mobile

Visibility impact on

Conversions?


Here’s how to answer them

#mobilefirstseo at #TuringFest by @aleyda from @oraintihttps://moz.com/blog/mobile-seo-stack-tools


To obtain this mobile search visibility increase


these mobile search conversions


And this growth trend


Now is your turn


Tack
