Inbound Marketing & Advertising Agency Blog

It would be an easy assumption to believe that if a website ranks high on a desktop search query, it will also rank high on a search query returned to a mobile device. The reality is that it would be a poor assumption to believe that search queries made across all platforms would be the same.

Google is working very hard to put the focus on its users to deliver the best possible search results and anticipate what the user is looking for each time they search. As a result, Google is separating search into categories to better accomplish this.

Google differentiates search results across these following categories:

• Desktop Search – Any search performed on a desktop or laptop
• Feature Phone Search – Any phone that has mobile broadband access and some but not all the capabilities of a smartphone
• Smartphone Search – Any Android, Blackberry, or iPhone capable of performing more in depth tasks than a feature phone
• Tablet Search – Any tablet on the market today. iPad, Playbook, Galaxy to name a few

The importance of Google’s strategy is predicated off the statistics that state:

1. Google has 67% of search traffic
2. Google delivers over 97% of mobile search traffic according to a study done by Statcounter.

Meaning that if Google decides a person searching for “Golf” would be looking for golfing tips on a computer or golf course phone numbers on a feature phone or golf course prices and directions on a smartphone or read reviews and look at course tips on a tablet device, the results would vary depending on the device. The variation is because Google wants to make sure that the resulting pages render properly for the user on any device and to provide the results the user was looking for.

MARKETING TAKEAWAY

In 2012, as Google continues to evolve search with their Panda algorithm and the infusion of social signal, it will be imperative for websites to be viable across all platforms. Whether it is the development of a “m.” mobile version of your website or an incorporation of user agent detection to trigger a mobile type CSS on the same URL, it must operate on a mobile platform. Also, the incorporation of HTML5  into the design of a website will help the rendering of the website, making the website more app like for a user. Businesses cannot afford to suffer mobile search visibility loss in the assumption they will rank high on all mediums of search.

SEO and its impact on your inbound marketing strategy in 2012 will continue to be placed at the forefront of marketing strategies. Businesses will have to be on the leading edge of inbound marketing strategies in an effort to not get left behind. Lets get together and talk about how JASE can help you position your business in the driver seat in 2012. As always, please feel free to share this content.

image credit: RafeB on flickr

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