As smartphones and tablets reach a growing number of consumers, marketers need to evolve their techniques.
As a growing number of consumers become smartphone owners and users, emerging channels are staring to make their way into mobile marketing strategy development, particularly in areas that had been greatly dominated by search engine optimization (SEO).
For many years, online efforts to reach consumers depended greatly on SEO.
Now even the brands that have been effectively implementing SEO techniques are discovering that they need to expand their mobile marketing strategy efforts to include other elements, as well. It isn’t that search engine optimization has lost its importance, but the importance on relevance is growing at a very rapid pace. In essence, this means that efforts in optimizing for search engines need to take in more than issues such as the traditional keywords and inbound links.
A quality mobile marketing strategy is proving more complicated to marketers than expected.
The reason is that there are many other factors that need to be kept in mind when thinking about a consumer using a mobile
device. For example, while the traditional SEO components are still important to these techniques, it is up to sites to prove that they matter. Search engines – and their users – are becoming frustrated with the number of results to queries that involve unrelated content.
Data from 2013 has shown that only 13 percent of screen space is dedicated to organic search results. The rest of it was primarily made up of advertising and unrelated content. This has been causing traditional search traffic at the giants, such as Google, to decline, which it has been doing since 2013. Native search on mobile is starting to cut its way into this area.
This has also caused a trend that is leaning toward those emerging channels. A good quality mobile marketing strategy must be a part of the overall SEO effort. Therefore, while it is important for regular, keyword rich (not stuffed) content to be maintained on websites, it is becoming increasingly important to include elements such as social media management and other more smartphone friendly channels so that mobile device users will be able to obtain the information and answers that they are seeking through the company’s website instead of the competition.
Google to make major changes to mobile SEO
The world is growing increasingly mobile-centric and Google is more aware of this fact than most others. Google has high hopes for the mobile space, and not just because of its Android mobile operating system. The company has tied itself to the emerging mobile commerce field and has also been putting significantly more focus on mobile advertising. Google is keen to ensure that mobile consumers can experience digital content in the best way possible, so it has determined that all mobile sites will have to adhere to the company’s standards if they want to be seen on the search engine.
SEO continues love-hate relationship with Google
Search engine optimization has been a somewhat controversial topic for Google. On one hand, Google is unsupportive of so called SEO techniques because they are meant to circumvent the search engine’s algorithms. In the past, Google has suggested that SEO is little more than a way for poor content to find its way on the search engine. On the other hand, however, Google has been somewhat supportive of SEO practices in the mobile space. A SEO Melbourne expert has told us that the company now even offers best practice recommendations when it comes to mobile SEO.
SEO recommendations will be mandatory in near future
The recommendations that Google offers will soon become mandatory as the company works to ensure that mobile content can become more accessible to the consumers it is designed for. This means that retailers and other businesses that have mobile sites will have to make significant changes to their websites in order to keep their spot on Google’s search engine index. New algorithms are being introduced to the search engine to ensure that mobile sites are actually able to be accessed through mobile devices. Sites that do not meet Google’s standards will not be listed in the search engine.
Google aims to create a better experience for all mobile consumers
This initiative is not directly tied to any of Google’s other ventures in the mobile space. The company has invested heavily in mobile commerce and other sectors, but has seen the problems that exist with websites and services that are not optimized for mobile use. These sites and services tend to provide consumers with a poor experience, which serves to determine whether or not they will participate in other mobile sectors, such as mobile commerce.
