More than 60% of the people browsing the internet are mobile users. So, while optimizing your website for search engines, don’t forget about mobile users. You must optimize the site for them, too.
This is where mobile SEO comes up. Adding this to your SEO strategy takes you to a wider audience. You shouldn’t miss this chance, right?
It’s the reason I’m here with my mobile SEO checklist. This list will help you optimize your website for mobile device users to increase the overall reach. It may seem like a few extra steps, but they’ll help you in the long run.
So, let’s not wait any more. Here is my checklist for mobile SEO.
Mobile SEO Checklist for Better Reach
1. Create a Mobile Version
First, you must have a mobile version of the site. Nowadays, most themes come with mobile versions, too. If you hire someone to custom design your website, ask them to build a mobile version.
Mobile versions of websites make it easier for mobile users to enter the site and surf through it smoothly using any mobile device. Without a mobile version, most search engines don’t uprank your website for desktop searches.
2. Ensure Easy Navigation
The navigation that seems easy on desktops is not always easy on mobile phones. So, you may have to ensure easier navigation for mobile users. Try using your website through mobile devices, and you’ll know what to change.
Make it easier for mobile users.
3. Mobile Keyword Research
I don’t know if you’ve heard it or not, but mobile and desktop searches vary. So, while doing keyword research, check mobile keywords too.
Keyword research tools like Ahrefs and Semrush allow checking keywords for mobile searches. Add them to your target keyword list and optimize your content, title, meta description, etc., based on them. Doing this will increase your possibility of getting seen in mobile searches.
4. Mobile-friendly Content
Just a mobile-friendly interface won’t do. You must design content in a mobile-friendly way.
Mobile screens are smaller than desktop screens. So, a log paragraph seems longer on mobile. It irritates the readers. Keep your paragraphs short. Besides, use bullet points and subheadings. Make necessary phrases pop.
Use easy and common words to make it easier to skim. Also, if you want, add a small overview at the beginning of each part.
5. Keep Things Visible
Previously, a popular strategy was hiding the important part of the article under the ‘see more’ button, especially for mobile users.
The scenario has changed. Google’s Mobile-first Index system now indexes mobile-friendly sites first. If you apply the see more strategy now, its crawlers may ignore your site while indexing as the main part of the article is hidden.
So, keep everything visible if you want your pages to be indexed.
6. Check Mobile-friendliness
Google search console has a tool called ‘Mobile Usability’. It checks your website and shows how mobile-friendly your website is. Try this and see how mobile-friendly your site is.
It gives a list of URLs of mobile-unfriendly pages and tells the exact problem. Follow the list, fix the issues, and check again.
7. Speed Up Mobile Website
Your mobile website needs to be faster, just like the desktop version. Mobile users often leave pages that take time to load. So, test the mobile website speed and optimize it.
Speed optimization can be done by minifying CSS, deferring unused CSS, using light images, avoiding multiple page redirects, efficient cache policy, and more. Dig deeper and fix the speed.
8. Optimize Pop-ups
Pop-ups are really good tools for collecting leads, increasing subscribers, and other purposes. But they are irritating if not placed wisely.
I’ve seen a lot of websites where pop-ups are placed properly on desktop versions, but mobile versions come with shitty pop-ups. They often cover the whole screen.
To avoid offering such experiences, optimize the pop-ups for your mobile website, too.
Final Verdict
This mobile SEO checklist contains all the important steps to take while optimizing your website for mobile users. So, don’t miss the points stated here.
I won’t say that following this will take your site to the first position in SERP, but you’ll surely get a good boost in mobile SEO. The rest depends on the competition.
If you need assistance with mobile SEO, contact us. With a long experience in SEO, our SEO team is always ready to support your website to rank higher in search engines.
