pragmaticAs mobile data traffic continues to grow, search engines increasingly place emphasis on perfecting websites for viewing on mobile devices. This means for content managers, marketers and website operators, tuning key parameters to rank in search engines preferably on top while achieving a compelling customer experience.

You are wondering how you can achieve that?

Here are some aspects to consider:

1. Accelerate loading speed of mobile websites

More and more people use their mobile devices to search information quickly on the go, which are often queries for services, transactions or leisure activities. According to current internal figures of Google, there are already today more searches conducted via mobile devices than desktop computers. Users generally search quickly when queuing, sitting in a train or waiting for a bus on the way to work or between appointments. Hence, the speed at which the information has to be available is most important. Therefore, a website should manage with as little code as possible, largely without redirects, and in the ideal case resort to the services of a content delivery service when a service or online store should be available in a number of countries.

2. Do not use pop-ups

Web developers still use pop-ups to display additional content or detailed information on a web page. Besides the fact that such kind of advertising is becoming less and less acceptable on large screens, you should forgo pop-ups entirely on mobile devices. If pop-ups did not chase them off to begin with, you will lose them at last, when the users do not exactly know how they can close the pop-up, and they probably won’t return again anytime soon. Well, that is exactly the opposite of what an online store or any other provider of a website wants, isn’t it?

3. Build websites with responsive design

Responsive design is a way to build websites that automatically adapt to the conditions of different devices with different screen sizes and resolutions. That means there is a single code base for all devices. In contrast, native apps - each of which was written only for iOS, Android or Windows Phone 8 or 10 - can also be used only on the respective target platforms, so their range is limited. In the worst case, two or even three separate designs must be maintained. Since there is only one code base to maintain in responsive design, there are obviously significant time and cost advantages.

4. Use a mobile-friendly design

A mobile-friendly design is distinguished by easy navigation and optimal access controls. In short, it is all about the ease of use and usability. This includes, for example, that the text is readable without zooming and links placed clearly distinguishable from one another. Furthermore, it is recommended to do without the blockade of images, CSS and JavaScript, as it could cause problems with Googlebot with the consequence of lower rankings.

For search engines both fast loading time and a website with convenient user guidance comply with key conditions for the increasing customer satisfaction. As you can imagine, both factors are the more important in regards to mobile device use where easy handling is crucial.

By Daniela La Marca