Over the past few years, we have seen a significant switch from the use of desktop computers to mobile devices, which has influenced the way Google and other search engines index and rank sites. The overall number of searches coming from a mobile device now outnumber searches on a desktop, with mobile devices currently accounting for over 60% of the traffic.
Mobile-friendly design and page speed are the fundamental components of a mobile-optimized website.
Google has a number of tools for testing for mobile usability and, beyond that, Search Console has a mobile usability report that details problems on a page-by-page level.
You should utilize these tools while developing your new site and use Search Console to keep tabs on problems throughout the life of the site.
Being mobile-friendly does not just mean that your website can be viewed on mobile devices. A mobile-friendly site should be designed specifically for smaller screens, allowing easy navigation via larger touch-screen buttons, and only display relevant information and content for the users’ needs.
Page Speed
Page speed is important on all devices, but it can be critically important on mobile when users are out and about looking for quick answers. A page that may load relatively quickly on a WiFi network may not be quite so snappy on a mobile data network. 4G has delivered some great speed improvements, but coverage (in the UK, at least) is not something that can be relied upon.
There are, however, a range of best practices for improving page speed and, once again, Google has come to our aid with the PageSpeed insights tool. This enables us to easily assess how fast our pages load and get some pointers on what we can do to improve.
Why do you need a mobile-friendly website?
There are a number of different reasons why your website should be mobile-friendly. These include:
Basic mobile optimization
Homepage and site navigation
Site search
Commerce and conversions
Form entry
Optimize your entire site for mobile
A mobile-friendly website is an essential for every marketer to develop a successful SEO strategy. If you would like any further information then please give the Dental Design team a call on: 01202 677277