It’s difficult to imagine a world without mobile phones. Mobiles have transformed almost every part of the way we interact, from social or commercial interactions to casual browsing, entertainment or sourcing information. This makes the need for mobile SEO and prioritising the mobile experience greater than ever. 

What is mobile SEO? 

Essentially, mobile SEO refers to the process of optimising your website to maximise accessibility for mobile users whilst aiming to improve performance in terms of load speed and rankings on all mobile devices. Sites should not only look great on a mobile device but should also be functional and responsive, regardless of screen size. 

It’s a topic that we SEO-ers talk about often, and I don’t think the importance of well-optimised SEO for mobile should ever be ignored or downplayed. Whether you’re new to SEO or want to learn more about why mobile SEO is so valuable, this guide will give you further insight. 

Increasing mobile traffic 

It’s clear that the importance of mobile SEO is driven – perhaps most importantly – by the huge rise in mobile traffic (not just in the UK, but worldwide!) Studies conducted around mobile use and mobile market share all have one thing in common – mobile use exceeds desktop every single time. And this trend is growing quickly.

To put this shift into perspective, a study conducted by WordPress hosting provider Kinsta found that mobile traffic held an average of 31% market share throughout 2015. Fast forward 9 years to 2024, and the mobile market share is estimated to have increased to a massive 62%, with desktops occupying 36% and tablets just 2%.

Given these statistics, it’s crucial to prioritise mobile optimisation as part of your SEO strategy. This is even more essential for eCommerce businesses as most purchase-intent search queries are made on mobile devices.

So, what does this all mean? 

This increase in mobile traffic feeds into several other developments that reflect different users’ expectations and behaviours on mobile compared with desktop. These changes collectively increase the importance of mobile SEO for your business.

We’ll run through some of them here. 

Growth of local searches

With the significant increase in mobile phone usage comes a massive surge in the number of location-based searches, with users looking for nearby services or products. These queries often have high purchase intent, as users look for immediate solutions like the nearest restaurant, petrol station or supermarket. To meet this demand, Google prioritises local intent in search results, often displaying maps, business information, and reviews prominently. 

Businesses with optimised local SEO strategies – like updated Google Business profiles and the use of geo-targeted keywords – stand to gain significant visibility among mobile users. This is a great place to start if you haven’t already! Businesses that don’t optimise for these searches risk missing out on

valuable local traffic and losing out to other companies in their area. 

The rise of ‘near me’ queries

More specifically, there’s been a big rise in ‘near me’ queries, which are quickly becoming a staple in consumer behaviour – increasing by as much as 500%, according to Google. Searches for things like ‘restaurants near me’ or ‘hairdressers near me’ are becoming increasingly frequent, and even more so when browsing on the go – which goes hand in hand with the surge in mobile usage. 

The fact that these searches often lead to in-person visits or conversions highlights the importance of mobile optimisation in capturing this high-intent audience at the right time. 

Which brings us to…

The importance of the ‘Local Pack’

You might be wondering how to boost your visibility in local searches. 

Aiming to rank in Google’s Local Pack is a game-changer for businesses, with results displayed at the top of the page for location-based mobile searches.  Businesses should optimise for mobile by using location-specific keywords, maintaining consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) details, and employing schema markup. A mobile-friendly website boosts visibility and ensures potential customers can easily find and engage with your business.

Increasing popularity of voice search 

Voice search is another growing trend among mobile users, which poses an additional reason to optimise your business locally for mobile. For example, whilst on the go, a mobile user may ask Siri, “where’s the nearest pharmacy?” instead of manually typing out their query.

You can increase your chances of ranking in voice search results using mobile-first SEO strategies, specifically content optimised for conversational, long-tail keywords, and structured data.

Mobile-first indexing by Google

The exponential growth in mobile traffic has also facilitated change in Google’s crawl behaviour. Unsurprisingly, Google has overhauled its entire algorithm to prioritise mobile search. This is something called ‘mobile-first indexing,’ a process by which Google’s crawler prioritises the mobile version of a website over other versions, such as desktop, when indexing and ranking the site in search results. In short, the mobile version of a website is the primary factor influencing its search rankings on both mobile and desktop platforms.

Googlebot type report 

To make this all a bit more visual, we can take a look inside Google Search Console at the Googlebot – a web crawler that Google uses to find and index content for Search. 

The ‘Googlebot type’ breakdown in a crawl report for one of our clients shows which of Google’s crawlers access a website and how often they do so. The report clearly highlights Google’s prioritisation of the mobile version of sites, with the smartphone crawler type taking up 59% of the crawl, almost mirroring the estimated market share on mobile (62%). 

With users and Google’s crawler putting mobile at the top of the list, prioritising mobile SEO has become essential to maximising your online presence. To remain competitive and ensure optimal visibility, businesses must invest in a mobile-friendly web presence, focusing on responsive design, fast loading speeds, and user-friendly interfaces. Simply put, success in search engine optimisation now begins with meeting the needs of mobile users.  

But is it only Google that is prioritising mobile search? 

Though Google is the main search engine that prioritises mobile-first indexing, other search engines, including Bing, have also shifted their focus but have yet to prioritise mobile-first indexing to the same extent as Google. However, there could be some changes to follow – watch this space!

Higher user experience expectations

As a result of a mobile-first world, we have grown to expect fast, intuitive, and responsive experiences. Prioritising mobile SEO is crucial for driving and maintaining a positive user experience, which is now a major ranking factor used by Google. 

In short, a better mobile UX = higher search rankings. A number of factors contribute to an improved user experience on mobile, the main one being responsive mobile design.

Responsive mobile design 

Prioritising responsive web design is essential in meeting action-oriented user queries, whether shopping, finding directions or seeking answers. Here are some other things to think about when it comes to mobile-friendly UX:

• Touch-friendly buttons to enhance UX, keeping users on your site longer and improving SEO performance. 

• Adapting a website’s layout to fit any screen size. This eliminates the need for zooming or horizontal scrolling, providing a smooth and visually appealing experience. 

• Mobile-friendly navigation: simple, touch-friendly interfaces that allow users to find what they’re looking for with minimal effort. Intuitive menus, large buttons, and logical content hierarchy make it easy for users to interact with a site on smaller screens, directly improving their satisfaction.

• Making page load speed a priority; pages optimised for mobile typically feature compressed images, streamlined code, and reduced server response times, ensuring minimal delays that could otherwise frustrate users.

• Delivering concise, actionable content that aligns with user intent. Features like mobile-friendly pop-ups, click-to-call buttons, and easy-to-read content enhance user experience and encourage conversions. 

The key to achieving a great user experience informed by best-practice mobile-friendly SEO is all about removing friction and improving usability. Poor mobile design – like unreadable text, tiny buttons, and slow load time – can quickly lead to frustration and higher bounce rates. 

The key takeaway on mobile-first SEO

Ultimately, the dominance of mobile traffic demands mobile-specific SEO strategies to cater to mobile users’ browsing habits and expectations. If a site isn’t optimised for mobile, it’s likely to rank lower across the board. Without this, you risk losing significant traffic and visibility in an increasingly mobile-first world. 

By prioritising responsiveness, fast load times, and mobile-friendly features, businesses can improve overall search rankings, gain visibility in local searches, drive foot traffic, calls, or enquiries from nearby users, and meet user expectations. 

If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also like: Why responsive web design is good for SEO.