Planning with mobile users in mind
Among the many changes over the last 12 months is mobile search now outpaces desktop or other device type search. Currently almost 60% of all website traffic is from mobile devices. In fact, there are currently more mobile devices on earth then their are people. Mobile search continues to grow, so every month more and more potential customers will visit your website from their mobile device. If their experience with your site is poor, they’ll likely have a lower opinion of your brand, and also be more likely to abandon your site in favor of a competitor.
In addition Google has launched an initiative for “mobile first indexing”. That will slowly roll out over the next 12 -18 months. Planning your digital strategy with mobile users in mind is not just a good idea, it is a digital survival imperative. Strategically planning your mobile responsive web design will help businesses develop a blueprint for their SEO strategy, define the goals and objectives and plan to optimize for google mobile search before building the website.
All of this is going to aid your SEO efforts by providing a much clearer strategy.
Determining who’s your target audience and what message you are trying to reach them with will influence your responsive web design efforts and result in a more effective SEO strategy for your website.
Responsive design is device type agnostic
Want your web design to look great, no matter the device or screen size? Then responsive web design is the way to go. Responsive web design eliminates the need to develop a separate mobile website and the added overhead of management and administration.
Responsive sites provide a better user experience
There are plenty of business reasons to implement a responsive website, but they all connect back to the goal of providing a better user experience for your audience. If users can’t easily navigate your website, it’s unlikely they will stick around. A responsive site means no more pinching and zooming, and no more side scrolling, to see an entire site that doesn’t fit on a mobile screen. And a better user experience reduces bounce rates, boosts website conversions and improves brand perception. Increasing site usability not only satisfies users but is also rewarded by Google with better search engine rankings.
Less duplicate content
As intelligent as Google’s algorithms are, it still requires direction from you on which of your website’s content is most important.
A separate mobile site requires managing duplicate content issues. Using a separate website for your mobile client requires using a separate URL. Duplicate content can seriously harm your rankings if you do not properly use canonical tags to make it clear to Google which content is most is to be indexed.
Faster page speed
Google has made it clear that page speed loading times are a ranking factor. Every website should be optimized to score well on the Google Page Speed Insights testing tool. Websites that are mobile responsive will ordinarily load faster (especially on mobile and smart devices), resulting in a more positive user experience as well as a likely boost in ranking.
That’s just one of many reasons why Google recommends using responsive web design.
Lower Bounce Rates
A responsive and mobile optimized site provides a much better user experience for the visitor. It is much more likely that they will navigate more pages and spend more time exploring your site.
Conclusion
The number of device types available will continue to evolve and grow exponentially. We are in the infancy of how web properties will be displayed and engaged with as technology advances. People are now accessing the web through virtual reality headsets, smart watches, Google Glasses, desktops, notepads, ipads, tablets and smartphones. There will be more challenges and greater opportunities just around the corner.