Site optimization for mobile devices

It’s hard to imagine life without a cell phone or a tablet. And we use these devices a lot while using social media, talking, ordering food, buying clothes, listening to music, and watching movies. And this is just a small part of all the possible actions that can be done, thanks to “pocket friends”.

Based on the above, the question “Do you need website optimization for mobile devices?” immediately meets a logical answer. It is foolish to believe that resource development in one direction, that is, the creation of an interface for computers brings any result. No, the effect, of course, can be, but with one hundred percent certainty we can say that it is negligible when compared with competitors who do not miss the opportunity to invest their efforts and finances in the mobile version creation. And it goes this way while analyzing the latest information, it becomes clear that the main traffic flow goes with smartphones and tablets.

Last five-ten years the rhythm of life has become such that it is more often possible to observe a mobile phone user who has long been adapted not only to make calls, but also to do a huge amount of work for us, and it is hard to see a person who carries a bulky laptop with him everywhere.

Of course, for website owners, such optimization does not mean only a financial cost, but also an additional amount of work and time spent on it. However, in the end, such investment allows you to receive good dividends and pays for itself very quickly.

Why do you need a mobile version?

This question can be answered very simply by ordinary statistics, which, among other things, serves as an excellent motivation for quick action.

• In 2015, the global growth of mobile traffic began. The new models of mobile devices development have stepped forward, which has pushed many users. This year can be safely considered a starting point.
• In 2016, the proportion of people who still prefer to use personal computers and those who prefer telephones was equal. Since then, the number of “mobile users” has increased and the number of people who do not use a PC at all has reached about 20% of all network users.
• Popular search engines began to change their ranking and indexing mechanisms and take into account the degree of site optimization for mobile devices.

This is the data that was processed several years ago, that is, now the trend towards smartphones has only increased. What does this mean for a resource owner who only acts in a full format? It’s simple. A significant and the biggest part of the traffic goes to competitors who keep up with the times. In short, if you are not going to be involved in such optimization, then you can safely forget about your business’s success. The whole process of entrepreneurship will be more like survival than making money.

Key steps

As stated above, resource ranking standards are changing. If previously the search bot only looked at sites of the version for the computer, now there is a separate one, which needs to check mobile versions. So let’s consider the main steps of the optimization task.

Analysis

This promotion has its nuances. They are, first of all, connected with the technical side and the control system. Here is an approximate list of what you have to face:

• Usability – easy use and interaction. Everything here is simple. Remember what is most annoying when you open a web page on your phone? The impossibility of simply getting to the desired button, the endless “fitting” of the picture under the screen with your fingers so that you can read it, the download speed, and much more. In short, the “oldies” remember all this uncomfortable horror.
• All information, that the user receives is associated with the location. In this way, a regional reference to queries is made.
• For the SEO specialist, a solid piece of work is added, since the frequency of requests for a PC and a smartphone is different. That is, for the same site, you will need to collect two different semantic cores.

So, if you decide to start promoting, then the first thing to check is the optimization of the mobile device. This can be done using some handy tools that can be easily found on the Internet.

• Page Speed Insight – first checks how loyal the resource is to mobile users, then gives out a list of recommendations that help improve the user experience with the site.
• Fetch and Render – shows the site through the search bot view, tracks errors made during optimization, and helps you quickly fix them.
• Resizer – is a service that works with content. It helps you see how the information looks on the screen of your phone or tablet.

You can find many interesting applications on the network and choose the most suitable for yourself.

Usability configuration

• It is better to use a large font, which is easily accepted by the human eye from a small screen. If there is a lot of text, the button «Continue» or «Learn more» plays its role perfectly, behind which you can hide the main part.
• All page content should not “jump” outside the screen horizontally.
• The enemy of the mobile version is volumetric advertising and often pop-up windows, which prevent the normal reading of information.

Loading speed increasing

This is a very important indicator. At a fast rhythm of life, sometimes there are no extra seconds to wait for the page to be downloaded. So if you see that the site is moving, check to see if all the scripts were collected in one document. Asynchronous loading can also be applied, which helps to establish interaction.

Correct indexing

The smartphone version must contain all the same elements as the computer version.

• The same meta-tags.
• Micromarkings (if t is applied).
• Content should not be duplicated when indexing.

Testing

Before starting to work properly, you should check the site on all devices. It’d be stupid to just look at the phone and forget about the laptop and the tablet. Unfortunately, there is often a problem that the smartphone shows everything perfectly, and the other screens show everyone a known 404 error.

Basic Rules

• We analyze the target audience. This can be done using Yandex.Metrica or Google.Analytics. In this case, we analyze demographics (gender, age), locations that give a greater number of transitions, which devices are used to enter, installed OS (iOS, Android, Windows Phone), time spent on the resource. This analysis helps in the quality of progress and points out the problems that may be. For example, a user leaves the site very quickly. The question “What is wrong?” Will immediately arise. This will be an additional reason to test everything for sure.
• Design. In general, the simpler means the better. “Overloaded picture” takes a long time to open.
• Download speed. You should avoid long waiting times for the user. This leads to the loss of interest in your site. And the search bot will not like such “jokes”. At all costs, try to increase this indicator.
• Content. The content should just fit into the screen. Write short, succinct headlines so they are easy to read.

Conclusions

What conclusion can we make from all of the above? First, we found out that neglecting the mobile version is taking popularity and customers away. Also, the site owner automatically loses profitable cooperation, potential partners. According to Runet, at the moment mobile traffic is more than ¾ of the total volume. What does this mean? Residents of the CIS are giving more and more preference to smartphones and tablets, which means that the main part of orders and requests are made through them.

If you have already optimized the resource for mobile versions, conduct an audit to identify existing errors in time and eliminate them. It is better to involve specialists for this, who can develop an individual strategy and be able to consider all the nuances in more detail. It is also about the development at the initial stage.

You don’t want to lose your profits and customers anymore? Call or write to us now. The money spent will pay for itself very quickly and bring income. Perhaps now your earnings are not as great as you would like, precisely because of the loss of traffic against the background of a lack of competent adaptation.

And one more little piece of advice for owners of online trading platforms. This applies to stores, delivery services, service sites. An excellent solution would be not only optimization for smartphones, but also the development of special applications that will attract additional customer traffic to you.Our specialists will help you solve any problem. Contact us!