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Finally, the long-awaited shift to mobile-friendly search is launched on a large scale. With the announcement published not so long ago, Google informed the owners of the websites that given this shift sites which are not mobile-friendly won’t be displayed on the first search result pages.

They went on explaining what features define what page your website will be on unless you fix everything that Google points out. In view of this announcement, we’ve decided to make a list of things which can prevent your website from appearing on the first search result page.

7 SEO Practices & SEO Experte Hamburg tips on making your website mobile-friendly

• Make Sure the Buttons Don’t Overlap

It’s actually one of the requirements of the search engines. They check whether the buttons or any other touch details on your website don’t overlap as well as whether user won’t find it too complicated to click on them when needed.

It makes sense considering that mobile devices are smaller, so users might find it complicated to navigate through the section of the site if buttons are too small or too close to each other.

• Redirect to Mobile and Desktop Versions

You need to enable a mechanism which identifies what device a user is using at the time being and redirects him either to the mobile or desktop version.

The latest update shows us that there are at least 1.5 billion users of mobile Internet. On top of that, more than two-third of users who use the Internet have a Smartphone. This should lead you to a better understanding of why redirection and mobile-friendliness must be your priorities.

• Go Social

Specialists state that websites that have easy access to “share” buttons when visiting the website from mobile get better response rates. Almost all content is written aiming to become known and spread by people sharing it, and recommending to friends.

By adding such buttons on your website for its mobile version, you make your material known among those users who rarely use desktop versions of social media and stick to them on their mobile devices. So, be visible on the social network.

• Speed Counts

According to the announcements by Google, those pages which open the content visible without the need to scroll down in more than one second will be put at a disadvantage by appearing on far from the first search result pages.

In fact, requirements will keep on changing. As the statistics show, today’s mobile version pages open in less than seven seconds on average. However, in 2013 the requirement was to make them open within a second.

So, implement mechanisms that will open your page in less than that.

• Quality Content

Keep in mind that usually, users who visit your website using a mobile device prefer reading short articles unlike those using desktop versions. That’s why our next tips are in making content slightly different from what you usually publish on your website.

Meanwhile, you should sacrifice the quality of what you post. Even though you should make articles shorter, it doesn’t mean that they should be of lower quality.

By quality content, we mean fresh ideas crafted by you or your employees. Pages with content taken from other sources get penalized as well. Such content should contain keywords. It’s especially important to add these keywords to the first section of the text, as search engines generally react to them first.

So, your content should be clear and short.

• Adjust to the Locals

When searching for something online from a mobile device, people usually seek precise information unlike those searching for it on the desktop version.

That’s why it is better if you can adjust your content to the needs of the local population. For instance, if you detect where the person is seeking help in spotting a good restaurant in a particular area, you need to enable a mechanism that will identify such a search and respond to it.

As the Ipsos and Google data shows, around 94% of people searched for information on the local level, which led 84% of them to action. This means that if you want to convert these searches into your sales, make sure you adjust them to your location. So, you need to start thinking regarding local information.

• Make the Most out of the Mobile Experience

Now, as you realize that users of mobile devices search for different things than those of the desktop, all you need to do is focus on making the most out of their mobile experience.

Sure things, features of mobile and desktop versions should differ as well. Thus, you can add the bar code scan to your mobile website to make it easier for users to learn more about certain products of yours. Apart from that, you can also add the click-to-call feature to your phone which means that once you click on the phone number mentioned on the website, it will automatically start calling. Finally, one can also consider designing special coupons which can be saved on one’s phone with no need to print it put. Such convenience will increase the loyalty of your clients.

All in all, such tips can truly make users’ experience of using a mobile device significantly better and your image both in the eyes of the users and in the search engine stronger. Thus, save them and apply to your business.