A Mobile First Strategy Checklist For Our Impending Mobile Future

In case you’ve been living under a rock, a mobile revolution has occurred. According to Gartner research for 2020, more than half of the world’s population will turn to a mobile device first, before a desktop device, for anything internet related. This statistic alone should make every business shake in their boots.

If you haven’t gone mobile or you lack a mobile-friendly website, it’s time to catch up. In March of 2018 Google made good on it’s promise to move towards Mobile First Indexing, “Historically, the desktop version was indexed, but increasingly, we will be using the mobile versions of content.” To date they have said this will not affect search results, simply how Google reads content, however, we expect that to change sooner rather than later. Meaning that sites that are not responsive or have a mobile version will eventually be penalized in search results. 

Research conducted by SmartInsights shows that Google accounts for 90% of market share when it comes to searches on mobile devices. It’s important businesses recognize how critical mobile optimizations are to be successful today.

If you’ve been putting off getting your website updated and optimized for mobile, it’s time to take action. Evaluate your business’s mobile-friendliness with our Mobile-First Strategy Checklist. We’ll help you create a game plan to address any of the items below you need to get up to speed on. 

Related: Is Your Marketing Strategy Complete? Find Out Here [Digital Marketing Checklist]

Is Your Site Mobile Friendly?

Being “mobile  friendly” refers to the ease of use in which  someone can navigate and interact with the content on your website on a mobile device. For example (to name a few),  is the content easy to read, or do users need to zoom in to view it? Are buttons and links easy to hit to navigate further into the site or are they too close together resulting in accidental clicks? Do pictures load properly?

The initial step in a mobile first strategy is making sure your current site is mobile friendly. There are plenty of tools out there built just for this purpose, but we have our favorites. Test your site using:

• Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
• Small SEO Tools Mobile Friendly Test

Both tools are free and easy to use. Stop what you’re doing and test your site now!

Optimize Your Current Content

Don’t stress about creating new content just for mobile; your current content is a great place to start. Gather and organize the most important content on your site and begin to make optimizations for mobile. Using historical data from tools like Google Analytics  will help you determine what pages mobile users most often navigate to and which pages they have the most trouble using (look for high trafficked pages for mobile users with high bounce rates), these are the pages you’ll want to start optimizing first. 

These optimizations can include:

• Compressing and resizing images
• Moving CTA’s and pertinent written content towards the top of the page
• Reorganizing written content into an easily readable format (bullet points are great)
• Ensuring videos are responsive

Making these optimizations will not only help with a user’s mobile experience and the page speed, but it will also make your desktop site faster, it’s a win-win. When it comes to content optimizations this is just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a strong starting point.

Page Speed Is Crucial

We live in a fast-paced world and we don’t have time to wait for webpages to load, this is especially true  for mobile users who are often looking for information on the move. On average, if a webpage does not load in 3 seconds or less they will leave the site. Meaning slow page speed leads to poor user experience (or fewer users entirely) which results in decreased conversions, and decreased trust in your brand.

There are 6 main reasons why websites run slow. Here are a few changes you can make to increase your page speed:

• Minimize page redirects
• Optimize and minify CSS
• Minimize server response time
• Compress all images
• Load above the fold content first

If this seems overwhelming, start with the small changes, such as compressing images, and go from there. Any improvements you can make that will help your page speed will keep your consumers happy and encourage them to return. 

Focus On Local SEO

Think back to the last time you used your phone to search for information. What words did you Google? Most of us turn to our phones when we are out and about and need information in the moment. These searches tend to be local and contain words such as “near me” or “closest to me”.

When it comes to mobile first strategies, it’s important to focus on local SEO. Doing so will help you capture the right consumers at the right time (like when they’re right around the corner from your store). Local SEO can seem intimidating to tackle on your own, but there are small strides you can make. From reviews to citations, any work you put it in will grow your local rankings and move you towards standing out in the pack.

For a more in depth look at local SEO and how it can impact your business, check out our local SEO blog.

We’ve Got Your Back

It’s essential to get your business or organization up to date with these items. We know how frustrating it can be when mobile sites aren’t performing up to your expectations. If you aren’t sure where to begin when it comes to a mobile first strategy, don’t stress. Our team is well versed when it comes to mobile first strategies and optimizations. Don’t hesitate, contact us today if you want to up your mobile game!