As the majority of all global web traffic continues to stem from mobile devices, more importance is placed onto responsive mobile design to optimize websites.

1. Tools & Tips to
Optimize Mobile Websites
by Linh Nguyen

2. type of query
location of searcher
type of device searcher is using
BEFORE A WEB SEARCH ENGINE
DISPLAYS MILLIONS OF RESULTS
IN LESS THAN A SECOND,
it must examine a variety of ranking
signals, such as:
For mobile searches, one signals is the
mobile user experience of the page,
meaning mobile issues can
prevent an ideal user experience
and may hinder a site’s ability
to rank well to mobile searchers.

3. In early 2020, Business News
Daily reported “more than half of
all global web traffic comes from
mobile devices.”
A similar statistic is found in
Broadband Search's 2019
Internet Traffic.
POOR MOBILE USER EXPERIENCE
CAN ALSO COST THE SITE
A LARGE AMOUNT OF
POTENTIAL MOBILE TRAFFIC.

4. THEN
EVERYTHING
CHANGED
IN 2016.
has since changed the way results
are ranked for all types of searches
--and the way marketers view
the importance of having
mobile responsive websites.
GIVING MORE VALUE
TO SITES THAT ARE
MOBILE FRIENDLY...
Google announced it would shift
its primary indexing to “mobile-first”,
focusing first on mobile factors rather
than desktop.
IN THE MIDST OF
THIS GROWING TREND,

5. Test the site’s mobile usability
Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool
(https://search.google.com/test/mobile-
friendly)
Test the site’s mobile (and desktop) speed
Use Pingdom (https://tools.pingdom.com/)
Aim for a page speed score of 65
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to
Test the site’s responsive design
Make making sure all aspects of the site is
consistent across all devices and able to
adjust accordingly to the browser
experience
or above on average
analyze your site’s page loading issues
OPTIMIZE MOBILE SITE BY APPLYING
THESE TESTS AND/OR TOOLS:
Mobile Website Optimization Tools
google.com

6. Some Tips to
Avoid Common
Mobile Website
Mistakes

7. Recommendation: Use HTML5 standard tags
to include videos and stay away from
formatted content, like Flash, that are
not supported by all mobile devices.
MANY VIDEOS THAT PLAY ON A COMPUTER DESKTOP
ISN'T PLAYABLE ON SMARTPHONE DEVICES DUE TO
REQUIRED SOFTWARE OR DEVICE CAPABILITIES.
UNPLAYABLE
VIDEOS

8. Recommendation: Set up a server that redirects smartphone
users to the equivalent URL on the smartphone site.
If a page does not have a smartphone equivalent,
keep users on the desktop page rather than
redirecting them to the smartphone site's homepage
MANY SITES EXPERIENCE A COMMON ERROR OF
REDIRECTING A USER WHO IS TRYING TO ACCESS
A URL ON THE DESKTOP SITE TO AN IRRELEVANT
URL ON THE SMARTPHONE SITE.
FAULTY
REDIRECTS

9. COMING SOON
Recommendation: When adding such links, be sure
that the links point to the correct equivalent page.
ANOTHER COMMON ERROR IS A LINK
LEADING USERS TO AN IRRELEVANT PAGE,
LIKE HAVING THE SMARTPHONE PAGES LINK
TO THE DESKTOP SITE'S HOMEPAGE FOR EXAMPLE
IRRELEVANT
CROSS-LINKING

10. Sources:
Business News Daily
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7808-
google-search-ranking-mobile.html
Broadband Search
.https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/internet-
statistics
Google
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-
mobile-first-indexing/346170/
https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-
sites/mobile-seo/common-mistakes