Mobile Search Optimization
A White Paper by:
www.ResolutionMedia.com
Last Updated Thursday, August 30, 2007
Read most recent version online at
http://www.MobileSearchOptimization.com
and on your mobile device at http://MobileSearchOptimization.mobi
Executive Summary
Mobile Search Optimization is a nascent and quickly evolving field, but it’s one that marketers can take advantage of today, before the search engine results pages become crowded and optimization more difficult. Mobile search
optimization is commonly misunderstood as optimization of a web site specifically designed for the mobile web. While this is a large part of mobile search
optimization, a truly comprehensive mobile search optimization campaign will also include mobile and local content distribution and an audit of the client’s web site for mobile web accessibility. In this white paper Resolution Media outlines some tactics and processes for optimizing for the mobile user.
Contents
I. Introduction……….4
II. Optimizing for the Mobile Web versus Optimizing for the Mobile Query………..5
III. Introduction to the Mobile SERP……….6
IV. Mobile Search Optimization Strategies………..12
a. Content Distribution i. Mobile………12
ii. Local………..12
b. Mobile Web Development and Optimization…..13
c. Mobile Accessibility……….21
V. Conclusion………..26
VI. Selected Resources………..27
VII. Appendix……….29
VIII. Definitions……….……..30
I. Introduction
According to a recent eMarketer report, there will be a projected 844.9 million worldwide mobile-search users in 2011¹, up from 219.2 million in 2006. Mobile ad revenue worldwide is projected to grow to $2.4 billion in 2011, from $6.8 million in 2006. With this kind of opportunity, many of our clients are looking to get into mobile search optimization now, while others are already experiencing the
benefits of an optimized mobile site. Unfortunately for marketers, the mobile web is still in its infancy, and very little is known or shared about the process of
optimizing web sites for mobile search. In order to contribute to the conversation and to help companies and individuals understand the complex process involved in developing and promoting simple web sites for mobile searchers, Resolution Media presents this white paper on optimizing for the mobile searcher.
Keep in mind that while the information within this white paper can help
developers and designers develop mobile web sites and web sites for display in a mobile browser, it is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to mobile web development and design. Instead the focus is on designing, developing and producing in such a way that will provide more visibility of that digital content to mobile users. For a more in-depth look at Mobile Web Design, Development and Usability please see the Resources section of this document, which includes
II. Optimizing for the Mobile Web versus Optimizing for the
Mobile Query
An important distinction must be made between optimizing for the mobile web and optimizing for the mobile searcher. In this study we will focus on the latter. Given the amount of content available to the mobile user, connecting with the mobile user entails not just having an optimizing a mobile site, but also optimizing digital assets such as an HTML web site, local feeds and product feeds that may appear in mobile search results. With the constant influx of innovative technology into this emerging market, the ways in which a user can access mobile content are not limited to the mobile web. As such, a comprehensive optimization strategy must look beyond the mobile web to address the mobile searcher in general.
III. Introduction to the Mobile SERP
In order to better understand how mobile search engines index and rank pages, Resolution Media performed a study of mobile search engine results pages (SERPs) from Google Mobile and Yahoo! Mobile for popular mobile keywords on July 12, 2007. Various search engine ranking factors were examined for 18 non-branded keywords from six of the top categories identified by iCrossing in their “How America Searches: Mobile”² study. What follows are several idiosyncrasies of the mobile SERPs, observed in this Resolution Media study, which could affect optimization efforts significantly.
1. Different Results by Device
Currently, in some cases search engines return different search engine results pages for simple users browsing for more basic WML content than they do for more complex users with the capability to view the more advanced XHTML content. Google’s WML engine currently allows mobile searchers to search Web, News, Image and Mobile Web Results separately, while the more advanced version combines the results into one SERP.
What this means for marketers is that a user attempting to use the same search engine as another user on an older device could get a different results page than a user with the same query in the same location. As the factors increase,
optimization becomes more complex.
Right: Google XHTML SERP for “mobile search” with Google listed in 4 of the 6 results on page 1.
2. Rewards for Duplicate Content
Mobile is one of the few search properties where identical content is listed side by side in the search results, allowing optimizers to dominate a SERP with the same essential content in different formats.
An optimizer with four sites developed for XHTML, imode, WML and the web currently has an advantage over competitors optimizing only one site, as all four of those sites could currently show up for the same query,
effectively crowding out competitor listings for the query, as we see with the Google example to the right for the query “mobile search”, from August 15, 2007.
3. Fewer Results per Page
In general, there are fewer results per page for the mobile search engines, presumably in order to prevent scrolling for mobile usability. Google’s XHTML engine contains six web results per page, to the ten results per corresponding Web page. For marketers this makes page one results even more competitive, as there are fewer spaces on page one to win, and mobile users, according to the latest research², are unlikely to ever get to page two on a mobile device.
4. Location, Location, Location
Given the local nature of mobile search, it’s not all that surprising that, as with web search, the results can change based on geo-cues in the query. Location-specific terms cause local business listings to appear first, followed by web results, etc. However, unlike web search, the “Search nearby” button is
omnipresent in mobile search. For marketers this means that any mobile search campaign should optimize for local search as well.
5. Universal is Everything
The same rules for universal search apply to mobile, but to a larger extent. Searches for people in Google Mobile are often interpreted to be requests for images or news, and web results are often left out entirely. In Yahoo! oneSearch for the query “sports”, mobile web pages were listed sixth, behind ads, local businesses, images and web results. An optimizer just optimizing mobile content for the mobile web could miss many opportunities for mobile traffic.
L-R: Yahoo! Go oneSearch results for mobile query “sports”. Screen 1, local
listings; Screen 2, business categories, Screen 3, images; followed by web and mobile web results on Screen 4.
Since the mobile search engine results pages are different than web search engine results pages, mobile search engine optimization strategies are also going to be different. Companies practicing all four of the following strategies for mobile search optimization should receive the lion’s share of the traffic from mobile search.
IV. Mobile Search Optimization Strategies
1. Mobile Search Optimization Strategy: Mobile Content
Distribution
Strategies for mobile search optimization that are focused only on Mobile Web Development and Optimization are missing out on most of the traffic available from mobile search. As we can see from a brief analysis of the current Yahoo! oneSearch mobile search engine results page (SERP) for the query “sports”, the very first result is paid search advertising, followed by local business listings, followed by business categories and image search, then finally web results before the mobile results are listed sixth on the page. If marketers are ever going to take advantage of all of the traffic available from mobile, we have to stop thinking of mobile search optimization as optimizing content that is available on mobile devices only, and start thinking of it in part as content distribution to web applications with mobile channels, such as Google Reader, YouTube, Wikipedia and Yahoo! Shopping Mobile. If you’re a search marketer who is optimizing feeds, images, video, etc. and distributing that content to all relevant channels, you’re already one quarter of the way optimized for mobile search.
The next strategy is similar to the last, but since local is such an important channel in mobile search, we have separated it in order to emphasize its value. According to several recent studies, content related to Maps, Directions and Local Attractions is of primary interest to the mobile searcher. If you have
business locations and they are not in Google Local, Yahoo! Local, Ask City, Live Search Maps, and review sites that appear in mobile SERPs like Yelp and
Viewpoints, you’re not optimized for mobile search.
To help you optimize for these terms, the engines are making it easier than ever for searchers to contact you through local feeds, creating mobile maps
applications to make searching for local content faster, and adding a click to call feature within the local listings, connecting local businesses to consumers more directly than in web search. Finally, at least two of the major search engines are developing voice search applications (i.e. 1-800-GOOG-411 and Microsoft’s TellMe acquisition) to connect your local content to mobile users who have no patience for the mobile web.
3. Mobile Search Optimization Strategy: Mobile Web
Development and Optimization
What follows has traditionally been considered mobile search optimization: developing and optimizing a mobile web site. In this section we will detail the benefits of developing a mobile web site (i.e. a site created for mobile devices
and the mobile web) and the process for optimizing it, and in the next section we will detail best practices for making your current web site accessible to mobile devices.
A. Yes, You Need a Mobile Web Site
There has been some speculation in the blogosphere and industry trades
(including a Forrester Report signaling the end of the mobile web³) recently about whether or not technological breakthroughs like the iPhone will make the mobile web obsolete in a few years. Since the iPhone and other real web browsing mobile browsers like Opera Mobile allow a user to access the desktop Internet on a mobile device, the argument goes, the need for a mobile version of the Internet will eventually disappear. If someone is trying to use this argument to convince you that the resources needed to develop a mobile web site would be wasted, use any of these counterpoints to persuade them otherwise:
1. iPhone adoption is not growing fast enough to outpace the other 200+ commercially available cell phones and PDAs4 and justify optimization for a single device anytime soon.
2. Search engines are always concerned with providing a good user
experience for the simple user, so even when adoption rates have grown to the level of JavaScript and Adobe Flash on the desktop Web, as
3. From a usability standpoint, the user experience is different on a
mobile phone than it is on a desktop, and mobile users search
differently than they do otherwise5 6. Mobile sites allow us to control that experience, and optimize for mobile, rather than web-based queries.
4. Even the iPhone has limitations with regard to displaying web content compared to web browsers, currently not supporting Flash and being delivered at dialup speeds on AT&T’s Edge Network. Both designing a web site that is accessible to mobile devices and designing a web site specifically for mobile devices would make this a non-issue.
5. Currently Google and Yahoo!'s search engines reward for having mobile content, such that the owners of mobile sites can potentially have several listings on a SERP where they wouldn't have had any placement
otherwise. Given the search engines' tendency to reward sites that cater to the simple user, this factor is not likely to disappear
anytime soon.
6. In terms of reputation management, if your company doesn’t have a mobile web site show up in Yahoo!’s Mobile Web Results, which company will get that first page listing? In the case of one Resolution Media client, an accessible web site did not show up, causing the user who searched on their brand to click through to a 413 error, and a Frontline article tying their brand to shady activity in Mexico did. Having mobile web sites
optimized for multiple devices would have banished this negative result to the second page.
Until all of these arguments disappear, it is well worth the limited resources a company needs to expend in order to develop and optimize a site for
consumption on the mobile web.
B. Mobile Web Development versus Mobile Web Optimization
In 2007 and in recent years, mobile optimization has been synonymous with mobile development. The lack of quality mobile web sites that are optimized for search is largely responsible for this phenomenon, but as the mobile web becomes more crowded, it’s not likely to last. The good news for marketers is that today having an accessible web site with relevant keywords will likely be enough to get you on the first page for most mobile queries—even competitive, high volume ones. In anticipation of the day when optimization and development are no longer synonymous, and to give marketers a head start today, we present this guide to not just developing, but optimizing your mobile web site, with best practices for both indexing and ranking included.
C. Developing your Mobile Site: Two Approaches
Before you optimize a mobile site, you have to create one. Since there’s already quite a bit of information out there about mobile web development, we’ll just present an overview of two methods for developing a mobile site before moving on to best practices for indexing and ranking.
needed to build a site from scratch, small business owners with limited resources can transform their site using online software from a number of different providers. Here are a few of the current options available for turning your web site into a mobile site, or “mobilizing” it.
http://Funkify.tv http://Site.mobi http://Mobilizer.Volantis.net http://Zinadoo.com http://MobiSiteGalore.com http://Winksite.com
Any of these can be used to quickly make your web content accessible to mobile users. From an optimization standpoint, you have less control over the code and content with this method and should opt for the second method if you have the luxury.
2. Creating a Mobile Web Site from Scratch– Another option for those companies that can afford it is designing a web site from conception to completion as a mobile site. The advantage to this method is being able to consider the mobile user experience, and stripping away everything from the web site that doesn’t conform to it.
At this point the definitive text on mobile web development comes from top level domain dotMobi, who provides the free dotMobi Web Developer’s Guide7, a thorough flash-based training course8, and certification9 for qualified Mobile Web Developers. If your web developers review the training programs and follow w3c mobile best practices10, they should be very qualified to develop a site for the mobile web.
Again, while development and optimization are similar, a mobile web site can be created without optimizing that site for search. Optimization of a mobile web site, unlike mobile web development, is going to be concerned primarily with indexing and ranking a mobile web site in mobile search engines.
Getting your site into the mobile search indices is enough of a concern among webmasters currently that Google has added a Best Practices for Mobile Developers11 guide to their Webmasters Help section. We have incorporated those guidelines and more into Resolution Media’s basic process for indexing and ranking a mobile web site, which follows.
D. Resolution Media Mobile Web Optimization Process
1. Wireframe essential content to a mobile user
2. Do mobile-specific keyword research to connect to a user on the go. Keyword research tools for mobile users do not currently exist, but the
2. Yahoo! Mobile Related Searches 3. comScore qSearch
4. Standard Keyword Research Tools modified to fit characteristics of mobile queries.
5. Google Webmaster Tools Query Stats 6. Client web analytics
3. Optimize for multiple device and browser types
a. Use 100% valid XHTML, cHTML and WML code.
b. Adhere to mobile Web best practices and validate with mobile web best practices validators:
i. Mobile-friendly XHTML Validator (W3C)11 ii. Mobile-readiness checker (.mobi)12 iii. mobileOK Basic Checker (TAW)13 iv. WuRML (shadowplay.net)14
c. Consider mobile user experience and use mobile emulators to ensure content is returned in all devices and browsers, including
i. iPhone ii. Opera Mini iii. Smartphones
iv. Openwave browsers v. Yahoo! Go
e. Set Content-Type correctly. The search results returned are based on content and doctype, so these two are critical.
4. Create and submit mobile sitemap(s) to Google and Yahoo!
5. Audit robots.txt file to ensure mobile crawlers are able to access the site.
6. Link building
a. Internal – Audit internal links to ensure proper distribution of link popularity and relevance of anchor text.
b. External
i. Mobile – Find mobile specific topical and global links. Resolution Media has a list of several hundred general and niche mobile web sites to target.
ii. Web –
1. Find web sites, blogs, etc. concerned with mobile media and technology and distribute press release 2. Find web specific topical and global links
7. Analytics– make recommendations for web analytics and assist in proper implementation.
8. Run benchmark mobile reports.
4. Mobile Search Optimization Strategy: Mobile Accessibility
It is possible for a marketer to distribute mobile content and local feeds, build and optimize a mobile web site, and still not be fully optimized for mobile search. Local search feeds, mobile content feeds and mobile web sites could still link to a web site, and if the mobile user attempts to click through to the web site, they will not see compelling content that could cause them to convert, but HTTP errors15 instead. 413 (“Request Entity Too Large”) through 415 (“Unsupported Media Type”) will be common frustrations of your potential customers. Marketers can avoid them now by validating their current web sites for mobile best practices, paying particular attention to ensuring their web content can be viewed on breakthrough devices like the iPhone.
A. Validate Web Site for Mobile Best Practices
Mobile Validation is for more than just mobile phones. The W3C Mobile Best Practices Working Group has come up with a list of 60 best practices for Mobile Web usability and accessibility. It is recommended that developers familiarize themselves with these best practices and validate their web site for mobile devices. Doing so may or may not help a site be indexed or ranked, as in our research most of the web sites listed did not conform to mobileOK Basic
standards; but it will ultimately provide the best user experience and is therefore essential to any serious optimization efforts. After all, how valuable is getting mobile traffic if that user is not able to complete a desired action or access the marketing message? Not very, as we can see from this example of an
inaccessible site in the mobile search engines:
Branded Mobile Result to Inaccessible Web Site Yields Three Less Than
Ideal User Experiences Adapted by Google
Opera Mini Error Page Sony K750 Error Page
Here’s the same scenario in mobile application Yahoo! Go:
In both scenarios the problem with the web site could have been resolved by testing the site against the W3C’s 60 Mobile Best Practices, and validating with the Mobile Best Practices Checker, both available for no cost at the W3C’s web site. Branded query leads to branded error page in mobile browser.
B. iPhone Optimization16 17
The iPhone uses a specialized version of Safari that enables the user to zoom in on areas of a website that is otherwise rendered as if it were on a normal
computer. However, despite this added functionality, even the iPhone faces technical limitations that affect the browser experience. The following limitations on the iPhone (including no Flash or Java support) will affect how a web site appears on its browser:
10MB max html size for web page
JavaScript limited to 5 seconds run time
JavaScript allocations limited to 10MB
8 documents maximum loaded on the iPhone due to page view limitations
QuickTime used for audio and video
Apple specifically recommends the following design considerations:
1. Separate HTML and CSS– A mobile optimized site will be integrated or rely on standalone non-CSS pages
2. Use well structured and valid html –RM can confirm W3 compliant XHTML/HTML on the mobile site
3. Size images appropriately and don’t rely on browser scaling –Optimized mobile sites do no rely on browser scale
a high bounce rate.
6. XHTML mobile documents supported –XHTML is the preferred mobile platform. Ensure all XHTML is W3C compliant.
V. Conclusion
Mobile Search Optimization is a nascent and quickly evolving field, but it’s one that marketers can take advantage of today, before the search engine results pages become crowded and optimization more difficult. Mobile search
optimization is commonly misunderstood as optimization of a web site specifically designed for the mobile web. While this is a large part of mobile search
optimization, a truly comprehensive mobile search optimization campaign will also include mobile and local content distribution and an audit of the client’s web site for mobile web accessibility. In this white paper we have tried to outline some tactics and processes for optimizing for the mobile user.
It’s worth noting that some methods of generating mobile traffic and revenue such as mobile advertising, SMS and mobile search advertising were not explored in this particular study, but are considered a positive way to generate traffic from mobile search, and should be used to supplement any
comprehensive mobile search optimization campaign.
Finally, as mobile search optimization is changing on a daily basis, Resolution Media will make an updated version of this white paper available on
VI. Selected Resources
Mobile Web Design, Development and Usability Mobile Web Design
http://mobilewebbook.com/
DotMobi Developer Site
http://dev.mobi
Authentic Boredom
http://cameronmoll.com/
Mobile SEO
MobileSearchOptimization.com – Digital Home of this updated whitepaper.
http://www.mobilesearchoptimization.com
MobileSearchMarketing.com – Best practices for mobile search marketing.
http://www.mobilesearchmarketing.com
Mobile SEO UK Blog – Paul Bennett’s blog on current trends in mobile web development and optimization.
http://www.mobile-seo.co.uk
Mobile SEO Google Group – Forum for discussing current trends in mobile SEO.
Mobile Marketing Association: Mobile Search – Introduction to the state of mobile search.
http://www.mmaglobal.com/uploads/MMAMobileSearchIntro.pdf
OneUpWeb: Mobile Search and Its Implications on Search Engine Marketing
http://www.oneupweb.com/search-marketing-library/mobilesearch.pdf
Information Week: Mobile SEO – Recap of the MobileMonday NYC presentation on mobile SEO.
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/06/good_web_sites.ht ml
DavidDalka.com: Mobile Search Marketing – Independent consultant’s blog on current trends and best practices in mobile search.
http://www.daviddalka.com/createvalue/category/mobile-search-marketing/
SEW: Mobile SEO
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=_subscribers/topics/&bnam e=search_types_mobile
VII. Appendix
1. http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005170 2. http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/search-marketing/40705.html 3. http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,42929,00.ht ml 4. http://www.mobileresearch.com/statistics.html 5. http://www.icrossing.com/articles/How%20America%20Searches%20-%20Mobile.pdf 6. http://www.esprockets.com/papers/kamvar-baluja.chi06.pdf 7. http://www.dev.mobi/node/201 8. http://dev.mobi/files/training/index.htm 9. http://www.dev.mobi/certification 10.http://validator.w3.org/mobile/ 11.http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=40348 12.http://ready.mobi 13.http://validadores.tawdis.net/mobileok/en/ 14.http://wurml.shadowplay.net/sect.php?sectid=5 15.http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html 16. http://www.pocketpicks.co.uk/latest/index.php/2007/06/20/apple-waters-down-the-web-on-iphone/ 17.http://developer.apple.com/iphone/designingcontent.html
VIII. Definitions
WML –
Acronym for Wireless Markup Language. XML language used to
specify content and user interface for WAP devices.XHTML –
Acronym for Extensible Hypertext Markup Language, it is thesuccessor to HTML as the W3C standard language with which all web pages are created.
WAP –
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open international standard for applications that use wireless communication, for example Internet access from a mobile phone.i-mode –
NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a wireless internet service for i-mode mobile phones using HTTP, popular in Japan and increasingly also elsewhere.cHTML –
C-HTML (for "Compact HTML") is a subset of the HTML markup language that works on DoCoMo's i-mode mobile phones.mobileOK –
W3C® mobileOK conformance standard developed by the Mobile Best Practices Working Group is divided into Basic and Pro.Mobile Web –
Version of the World Wide Web specifically developed for users of mobile devices.
About Resolution Media
Resolution Media (www.ResolutionMedia.com) helps marketers connect their brands to their audience through Queries. Steeped with experience in Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Resolution Media leverages its clients' content and messaging by parlaying individuals' queries into actionable insights. With over 100 employees and offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, its client portfolio includes Bank of America, FedEx, Lowe's, Hertz, Universal Orlando Resort and XM Satellite Radio, among others. Resolution Media is an Omnicom Media Group company (NYSE: OMC).
1. Credits
Primary Author:
Bryson Meunier (www.BrysonMeunier.com) Product Champion, Natural Search for
Resolution Media, an Omnicom Media Group Company Contributors:
Jeff Campbell
Vice President, Product Development and Innovation Resolution Media, an Omnicom Media Group Company Dave McAnally
Product Specialist, Natural Search
