Congratulations! You’ve just spent a boatload of time (possibly a boatload of money) building your website! You’ve developed a social media plan that includes external links to your new site, and you’ve created an email campaign for a new lead magnet sitting pretty at the top of your new page! And you’ve written some incredible blogs to link back to and to improve your SEO. AAAAAND, your user experience is at a 10! Your website is perfect!
Or is it…
(CUE TERRIFYING THUNDER AND LIGHTING)
You may have the most beautiful website in the world. But there is one question you must ask yourself before ensuring your website is ready.
Does it look good on my phone?
1. Reality Check
Google has been focusing on mobile SEO as part of its rankings since 2014, and as of July 2019, Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a website for ranking and indexing.
This means that Google’s algorithms will primarily evaluate the mobile version of your site, rather than the desktop version, to determine its search engine rankings. If your mobile site is a stripped-down version of your desktop site, or if it lacks the rich content features that your desktop site has, your search engine rankings could suffer. Therefore, it’s not just about making your site ‘look good’ on mobile; it’s about ensuring it’s fully optimized for mobile crawling and ranking.
All of this is to say that if you’re not focusing on mobile SEO, you’ve basically shot yourself in the foot. (Ouchie). Even with a fantastic website, you have to focus on mobile design. Luckily for you, we’re kind of experts at this.
So here are some tips to ensure that you’re optimizing your website for mobile.
2. Let’s Talk About Design
Most professional web designers should be able to demonstrate how the work they’ve done is optimized for mobile devices. And if you’re in a position where you can’t afford a website developer, most website platforms, like Squarespace, WordPress, and Wix, have built-in tools to help you preview your site on mobile.
But this is more than just moving a paragraph or changing your font size – you may have entire sections of your website that don’t work on a mobile device. If this happens, you’ll have to determine if it’s worth the effort of reworking the section or if it’s a section that can be removed from the mobile version of your site altogether.
3. Speed Matters: Don’t Lose Your Audience
Let’s take a moment to talk about speed. We’re past the days of people staring patiently at their home screens and wondering why it’s taking so long to load on their phones. If a link doesn’t load, they’re just going to bounce.
Optimize Your Images: Pay attention to those file sizes! Large, high-resolution images can slow down your site. Aim for images to be under 100 KB for regular photos and under 200 KB for full-width images. Tools like TinyPNG or Optimizilla can help compress your images without losing quality.
Check Your Video File Sizes: Videos can be massive and drastically slow down your website. If you’re embedding a video, ensure it’s compressed to a size of 6MB or less. Platforms like YouTube or Vimeo automatically compress videos, making them ideal for embedding.
Stay Updated: Ensure your website’s plugins, themes, and content management system are current. Outdated tools can slow down your site and pose security risks.
4. Mobile SEO – Is There Really A Difference?
You’ve got the aesthetics down, but have you peeked under the hood? Mobile SEO isn’t just regular SEO in a tighter pair of jeans. While the core principles of SEO remain the same, mobile SEO has changed how we write our website copy, and it should change how you approach writing yours.
Ever whipped out your phone to find the nearest taco joint or coffee shop? That’s Mobile SEO doing its magic. Another thing to remember is that people use their phones for quick answers. They want information, and they want it to know. So, ditch the fluff. Keep it snappy, clear, and readable, especially on those tiny screens.
Just like in a stage play, what happens behind the scenes matters. Ensure your meta tags are on point, your internal links lead somewhere, and for the love of all things digital, avoid Flash.
5. When Was the Last Time You Gave Your Website Some TLC?
There are tons of companies out there who spent a ton of time and money developing their website…5-10 years ago. The world was very different in 2013 – and mobile SEO was barely a discussion. If you haven’t audited your website in a while, it may be time to reflect on some crucial changes.
EO optimization is no longer about how many words you can get on a page. It’s significantly more nuanced than that. It’s about the quality of information, the user experience, and, most importantly, adaptability to ever-changing algorithms and consumer behaviors. In today’s digital age, a static website is a stagnant website. If you’re not evolving, you’re not just standing still—you’re falling behind.
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, staying ahead means not just keeping up with trends but setting them. If you’re contemplating a website overhaul and are unsure where to begin, we’ve got you covered. At SizzleForce Marketing, we offer specialized AI consulting services tailored to your needs. Our team can conduct a comprehensive audit of your existing website, ensuring that SEO, design, and mobile optimization are not just up to par but are actually driving conversions. Ready to elevate your online presence? Schedule a ‘Get to Know You’ session with us today. With our help, your website will become a conversion engine that turns visitors into customers.