Your mobile website experience will be critical to your marketing success in 2021.
Mobile website experience has been important for a long time, but the value of a good mobile experience is only increasing. What precisely is mobile site experience? Your website must be:
- Mobile-friendly – Is it possible to explore the site without pinching to zoom or scrolling sideways?
- Quick loading – Will your site load before consumers are driven to return to their search?
- Is it simple to use? – Can people locate what they’re looking for?
A good mobile site experience is no longer a competitive advantage; it is critical to your search performance.
The Mobile Device Is the New Desktop
It’s no wonder, given how much we’re all linked to our phones, that a large portion of searches are conducted via mobile devices. Desktop traffic was exceeded by mobile device traffic as early as 2015, and it hasn’t slowed since. As of February 2021, mobile devices accounted for more than 54% of global traffic:
In 2015, 61% of mobile device users said they were more inclined to contact a local business if their website was mobile-friendly. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re not just less likely to acquire leads, but you’re also less likely to appear in search results in the first place.
The transition from mobile-friendly to mobile-first
Google initially made it apparent that mobile experience had an influence on search results with their mobile-friendly upgrade in April 2015. Consumers began to get distinct search results on desktop and mobile devices at this point in time to adapt to users’ requirements. Site content remained number one, thus sites with poor mobile performance may still rank highly, if not first, without a mobile-friendly site.
In 2016, Google began experimenting with mobile-first indexing, taking it to the next level. That effectively implies that when analysing material to rank and appear on Google, Google looks at the mobile version of the site. By December 2018, mobile-first indexing has been utilised on 50% of the sites displayed in search results worldwide. Prior to this change, Google ranked content based on the desktop version of the site, but because the majority of Google users now access Google search via a mobile device, the mobile experience became a priority.
The default for new sites was changed to mobile-first indexing in July 2019, however the transition for older sites was much slower. It has taken years to transition the whole web to mobile-first indexing. Google revealed in mid-2020 that they have suffered delays from their original target of mobile-first indexing for all sites across the web by September 2020. Google’s deployment should be complete by the end of March 2021, and desktop-only sites will be removed from Google’s index.
Are you unsure whether your website is mobile-friendly? Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your website is mobile-friendly.
So, what factors contribute to a positive mobile site experience?
Having a mobile website is no longer sufficient. Instead, you must have a site that is genuinely mobile-optimized. Many factors contribute to your mobile site’s overall experience:
The Importance of Content
When mobile sites initially became popular, it was usual to give visitors with different (or less) material on mobile than on desktop in order to make mobile sites simple. However, with the full implementation of mobile-first indexing, your mobile site’s content must now take precedence.
Google’s John Mueller has said unequivocally that Google is indexing just the material that appears on a site’s mobile version, and that desktop content would be mostly disregarded. Do you want Google to rank the content on your website? Make sure your site’s mobile version mirrors that material, otherwise Google will ignore it.
If you use less material on your mobile site and your site has switched to mobile-first indexing, you may notice a drop in ranks or overall site performance since Google is no longer noticing the additional information on your desktop site. In essence, your mobile site is now the primary version of your site, and it should be treated as such.
A Design For The Mobile
Mobile-optimized sites come in a variety of forms and sizes. Both mobile-friendly and responsive site designs are distinguished by the simplicity with which they may be accessed from a mobile device. A mobile-friendly website works the same way on both desktop and mobile devices. While you may be able to quickly click on components, sites that are simply mobile-friendly are not created with the mobile user in mind. These sites fulfil Google’s requirements and can be built in a shorter period of time.
Using a responsive web design, a site’s look may be adjusted to fit any size of browser or device. Due to the fact that mobile device users’ behavior differs from that of desktop users, responsive sites reformat information on a desktop site to meet their demands. Besides conforming to Google’s guidelines, responsive sites take use of their layout to attract mobile users. With the changing environment, several design teams have begun to use a “mobile-first” approach to developing websites, concentrating on aspects such as conversion rate and user experience.
Flash plugins, pop-ups, and components that are difficult to reach on a mobile device might impair a user’s mobile experience. Still not persuaded that your mobile experience is important? While using their smartphone, 75% of people expect to obtain instant information. If your site falls short or is too difficult to browse, consumers are likely to click “back” and select a rival instead.
Google’s Newest Ranking Factor Core Web Vitals Google ranking criteria for page experience
We’ve all become annoyed by how long it takes a website to load and just given up. Google’s most recent update takes a look at just that. Google’s Page Experience Update, which to be released in May 2021, will combine existing user experience metrics (mobile friendliness, secure surfing, HTTPS, and obtrusive interstitials) with new metrics termed “Core Web Vitals.”
Core Web Vitals metrics track how long it takes your site to fulfil three goals: loading, interaction, and visual stability. These factors are measured as follows:
1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
The Most Extensive Content Paint tracks how long it takes for the largest content piece (e.g., a banner image, video, contact form, etc.) on your website to appear in the viewport of the user. Simply put, LCP evaluates how quickly your website loads.
2. First Input Delay (FID)
First Input Delay is a metric that evaluates how soon consumers can interact with your website in their browser. Keeping your website’s code compact by limiting the use of third-party scripts will help your site resist FID.
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
The degree of visual change to your web page once a user begins engaging with it is measured by Cumulative Layout Shift. The lower the score, the better the experience for visitors to your website.
Stand out in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
Mobile users often use their smartphones to do localized searches, such as “ near me” and other similar inquiries. Google is continuously striving to offer the most relevant results, so those localized inquiries might help you bring in new customers. If your site is not mobile-friendly, you may be losing out on potential leads who are likely to convert.
Once your mobile site experience is up to standard, keep in mind that your mobile search strategy begins with your site. Combining onsite optimization methods such as meta data optimization and structured data usage with local SEO efforts may significantly improve your brand’s visibility on mobile devices.
Marketing for Mobile Devices
Blue Corona’s staff is able to help improve your mobile site experience and generate results, from mobile-first, responsive site design to search engine optimization services.
Are you looking for a marketing partner who cares about you and your mobile site experience? Please contact us right away.