Mobile SEO Future Planning

Posted on April 22, 2010 by cgseo

2010 is the next year that has been talked about year after year as far as mobile online use truly taking off. The iPhone was indeed revolutionary and provided the true smartphone leap forward, that has been followed and in many ways being surpassed by Android , with more and more mainstream users browsing online via mobile devices. How does this impact & affect the SEO that you have already carefully crafted for your sites? Not much…for now. Google CEO Eric Schmidt stated at the 2010 Mobile World Congress their new mantra & current strategy is “ Mobile First ” thus you can be first by getting ahead of your competition by planting these mobile seeds into your site: Create a mobile version of your site optimally in a mobile subdomain or subdirectory rather than a separate domain or TLD such a .mobi Render this mobile version of your site via mobile user agent detection while also providing the user an opt out to the standard web version. The mobile version of your site should have the following DocType declared above the HEAD code: The SEO coding elements will remain the same in the mobile version but to improve usability & reduce any possible duplicate content issues its best to strip extraneous content, JavaScript & graphics out – optimally via CSS. A mobile site should have at least half the load time in comparison to the standard site with a true target of under 2 seconds load time on an Edge or non-3G signal. A mobile sitemap XML should also be created which has as the main difference from the standard sitemap XML a declaration after each URL listing – Google Mobile Sitemap Instructions Affirm your mobile progress by using the tools at W3C & MobiReady to validate your code for mobile readiness as well check load time and actual mobile device rendering. Currently Google Mobile search is nearly identical to the standard search but there is a separate mobile index which will only grow in providing differentiated results. I will detail in next month’s mobile post at Search Engine Journal a key set of code that will give you this mobile search edge. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Mobile SEO Future

Yahoo Search Arrives on the Apps Store

Posted on March 23, 2010 by cgseo

Why Yahoo took this long to release a native iPhone app for its search engine is a mystery. Yet, it’s a significant day for the iPhone since the release of Yahoo Search app for the iPhone finally completes the triumvirate of the major search engines for the iPhone. Google has long been in the Apps Store while Microsoft’s Bing recently got an update. And while both Google and Bing tried to include as much nifty features as they want in their respective iPhone apps, Yahoo decided to go the simpler route – a simple and yet pleasant interface that loads search results as fast as you can think it can. The Yahoo Search app for iPhone also remembers your visited links and displays a short description of the sites you are loading. The app also display news flash in real-time place at the top of your iPhone’s screen. The only thing that could probably turn you off is the fact that the application is ad-sponsored. And given the small screen real estate of the iPhone, those ads can get pretty annoying. The app’s poor voice search feature is livable as well as the lack of direct access to maps and some other features. Still, the Yahoo Search iPhone app is a pretty good one and is packed with some great features such as the following: Local Maps: Get maps tied to your location; place a phone call or get directions with one tap Search Assist: Offers instant, local suggestions as you type Best of Yahoo!: Get results from Yahoo! Sports, News, Finance, Movies, and more— designed just for the iPhone. Voice search: Don’t type—just talk, making search easier and faster Local Businesses Photos: View photos, ratings, phone numbers, and more from Yahoo! Local, Yelp!, and Citysearch Personalized information: Tailored results that get even better the more you search Fast queries: Get site summaries at a glance with Quick Load “My Log”: Offers quick access to recent searches and local business results Shake to clear: Start a new query with a shake of your iPhone Here’s the iTunes Link for Yahoo Search app. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Yahoo Search Arrives on the Apps

5 Steps to Launching a Mobile Search Campaign

Posted on February 25, 2010 by cgseo

Mobile search continues to explode. According to eMarketer , mobile search spending will grow 81% over the next two years. So there’s no better time to get a jump start on your mobile search campaigns. Here are 5 key steps to launching a mobile search campaign in AdWords: 1. Measure your current mobile clicks How many of your current visitors are on mobile devices? Google recently added a mobile tab to the visitor report in Google Analytics. It tells you a) the number of mobile visitors b) their device and c) their mobile carrier. This will give a benchmark of your current stats, and give you a good idea of how mobile savvy your visitors are. If more than 5% of your visitors are on mobile devices, NOW is the time to start developing mobile-specific search campaigns. 2. Find our what your current mobile clicks are searching for Google’s new mobile visitor reporting also tells you what keywords your mobile visitors are searching for. This data can help you craft your keyword set. How do the mobile visitors’ search queries differ from regular queries? Is their intent different? How does their interest differ from your regular keywords? 3. Craft your ads + your keywords After you gather data on your current mobile search queries, craft your mobile-specific AdGroup. The size limit of ads for smartphone browsers (iPhone, Droid) is the same as regular “desktop” ads, but the interest and intent of your mobile visitors is going to be different than your regular browser. Google recommends keeping your keywords shorter & more generic. Your ads should reflect urgency & the short attention span of mobile visitors. For local businesses, AdWords also offers clickable phone number functionality for mobile ads, so you can catch incoming calls & measure their clicks. 4. Optimize your landing pages for mobile devices Your mobile ads need device-optimized landing pages. Start by creating mobile-optimized landing pages for the most popular device according to your device report in Google Analytics. iPhone landing pages should render for a 480 x 320 resolution, Droid landing pages should render for a 854 x 440 resolution, etc. Keep the copy simple and the call-to-actions big & bold. All the best practices of landing page optimization apply, but on a smaller scale. Also, make sure your phone number renders as text, so your visitors — whether local or nationwide — can click & call you easily. 5. Ready, set, launch! In Google AdWords, launch your mobile-optimized campaign. Create a regular campaign, but when you get to the stage where it asks you what devices to target, select Let Me Choose > iPhones & other mobile devices with full Internet browser . AdWords also lets you drill down further & target to specific devices, including the Android, iPhone, and Palm webOS. If you want to get even more specific, you can target by carrier. I haven’t seen any differences between AT&T & Verizon users, but as your campaigns mature, you may start to notice differences. All of the great reporting I covered in step 1 will be available for your mobile campaigns. The same rules for desktop AdWords campaigns apply — you just need to keep your mobile visitors needs in mind, and treat them separately than your desktop visitors. So start targeting campaigns for mobile, and get a head start over your competition in 2010. Megan Leap is Marketing Manager at ion interactive, a leading provider of advanced landing page software . As Marketing Manager, Megan manages search, email, webinar, and social media campaigns. She has extensive experience in conversion rate optimization and social media marketing, and when not championing high-ROI online marketing strategies, can be found running marathons across the U.S. She is also a frequent contributor to the Post-Click Marketing Blog . Follow Megan on Twitter: @MeganLeap . Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . 5 Steps to Launching a Mobile Search

Google Releases Shopper App for Android

Posted on February 19, 2010 by cgseo

Google has just released a new mobile app for Android phones – called Google Shopper . It’s a pretty cool and robust app that lets you search product information quickly using your Android phone’s camera. The app recognizes cover art of books, CDs, DVDs, video games as well as product barcodes. In addition to image recognition, the Google Shopper add also lets you search for product information using voice search. The Shopper app provides product information, reviews, and prices to help you make a wise decision in buying various items. The app also lets you star items and share them with your friends. It also saves your search history and then let you check them out later on even if you’re Android phone is not connected to the Internet. I downloaded the app on my Nexus One awhile ago and tried using the app. While the voice search works well, the image search doesn’t seem to work well. The app can’t seem to recognize some of the barcodes and product covers I tried scanning. It would be nice to have this feature as the voice search is a pretty simple feature. Image search will make this app stand out among the current crop of apps available in the Android market. To download the app, search for “Shopper” on Android market. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Google Releases Shopper App for

First Impressions on Google Buzz for Mobile

Posted on February 9, 2010 by admin

While waiting for Google to activate Google Buzz on my Gmail account, I decided to check out Google Buzz for Mobile on my Nexus One. I would have to say that Google did a pretty fast job of activating the mobile version rather than the web version of Google Buzz.

So, the first thing I checked was the mobile web app at buzz.google.com and there it was a simple interface with some nifty features that you can play around with.

The main screen contains two boxes of links. The first box contains links for “Following” and “Nearby.” The first one has all buzz from the people you are following while the second one will give you buzz posted by other people whom you are not following but located nearby.

The second white box contains links to your own buzz, the list of people you are following, list of people who are following you and a link for finding other people that you may want to follow.

Now the real action starts the moment you start creating your own boss or as Google puts it, sharing what you’re thinking. Thankfully the buzz you compose is not limited to 140 characters. And the moment you published your buzz it will be quickly posted on your profile.

Now, Google Buzz will only be exciting if people you follow also uses it rampantly to post updates. Just like Twitter or Facebook’s real-time updates/streams. But what’s good about Google Buzz is that you can search for what people are saying “Nearby.” It uses the Location service of your iPhone or Android phones so make sure that this is activated.

The “Nearby” feature also gives you prominent places nearby. Here’s where the social recommendation part of this app comes in. You can share a tip, post recommendation or say whatever you want to say about those specific places. And the moment you posted your buzz about the location other Google Buzz for Mobile user would immediately see and read your posts.

Overall, Google Buzz for Mobile has all the potential of becoming a viral mobile location-aware, social recommendation, buzz-sharing app. I would have to say that all other mobile apps with the same feature has something to be afraid of. It sits right on to the mobile web browser right now, what more if Google will release a native mobile app for iPhone, Android Phone and other platforms?

On a side note, I’ve only got 13 people following me right now. Care to follow me on Google Buzz? – noli725@gmail.com