Understanding The Mobile SEO Opportunity

Nick WilsdonLead SEO, Vodafone Group

Interesting mobile data from Google

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

More often via smartphone than computer / tablet Equally via smartphone & computer / tablet

http://consumerbarometer.com

55% of South African users

7%1%

6% 4% 6%

34%

3% 6%

38%

1%8%

1% 4%

55%

6%17%

6%

Only Access Internet On Mobile

http://consumerbarometer.com

Mobile Website vs. App – Who Wins?

88% 82%

12% 18%

smartphone tablet

app activity browser activity

30%

33%

37%

favour apps

favour mobile webequal

Source: comScore – Oct 2014 Source: IAB– Dec 2014

52% of users in the IAB study admit clicking web links within apps – in our always-on world, can people tell the difference between app and mobile web?

Mobile web vs. app – new user journeys

App indexing is not new, introduced in 2013 but it can now be used to index content on apps that are not installed on the user’s device

When users click an app result, they will be prompted to open the application or download it.

Available for Android & iOS – and in Bing

https://developers.google.com/app-indexing/introduction

Combined Mobile Search & App Experience

Network Coverage

Billing & Top up

Device Support

PersonalisedFAQs

Account Support

New opportunities for data driven (personalised) responses to searches = better user experience

Choose user journey by search query or intent

Many Mobile Journey’s Are Broken

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%Question: Which device did you use to make your purchase

Smartphone Tablet Computer

http://consumerbarometer.com

Which Explains Low Mobile Conversion Rate

Question: What do you tend to do when you run into problems using a website on a smartphone?• Continue to use the same site on a smartphone

(15%) • Use the same site but on another device (50%)• Find another site that works better on a smartphone

(24%)• Call or visit the store (7%)• Try the same site via a smartphone again at a later

time (25%)

http://consumerbarometer.com

1 in 8 people in the UK have downloaded app

Now 40%+ of orders come through the app

1%

27.5%38.3% 40%+

2012 2013 2014 2015

Dominos App Orders

Increased use (on move) & reduced friction

Get Inspired By Domino’s App Success Story

“More Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries including the US and Japan*.”- Google – Inside Adwords Blog, May 2015

* Now confirmed that the UK was one of these countries -Eileen Naughton, Managing Director and VP for sales and operations in Google UK-Ireland / 15th June 2015

@nickwilsdon

Mobile Tipping Point Arrived in May 2015

11

30m users30mln users 190 countries 750+ publishers

12 7 December 2015

“Publishers are ready to ramp up content distribution on Facebook’s Instant Articles in the coming days”- The Wall Street Journal – June 25th 2015

Expect More Carrots Than Sticks

Google is busy pulling levers to increase the quality of their mobile results. This is a great opportunity for advertisers.

• Google will be considering “high quality” apps a positive ranking factor in mobile search

• Google experimenting with “Mobile Friendly” tag in PPC results – will this be rolled into Quality Score?

• Now on Tap can navigate between apps and generate more information about the content in apps

• All of this will drive app downloads and engagement with your brand

Areas to focus on for 2016Your Mobile SEO

Checklists

15 7 December 2015

Basic Mobile Checklist

• Acceptable Mobile Configuration (passing Google’s Mobile Friendly Test)

• Responsive Website Design (RWD)

• Monitoring desktop/mobile rankings, traffic and conversions

Intermediate Mobile Checklist

• Connect Android developer accounts with Google Search Console

• Ensure you are tracking visits to and across app journeys

• App Store Optimisation (ASO)

Advanced Mobile Checklist

• Involve SEOs on user journey discussions (search data). Map out functionality

• Focus on performance (page/app loading) and UX improvements

• Allow Google API to crawl app, or create sitemap. Add in iOS app indexing SDK.

• Think mobile-first on content strategies and campaigns

@NickWilsdon

Thank You