Search Engine Optimization Bible, Second Edition

Chapter 21. Mobile Search Engine Optimization

IN THIS CHAPTER

• The mobile user experience

• Mobile web site design

• Mobile SEO

• The rapid evolution of mobility

If the social media that we covered in the last chapter are important to search engine optimization, then mobile SEO is essential. The mobile Internet is a phenomenon that seems to have caught "experts" off guard. No one thought that people would be interested in surfing the Web on their phone. The screen is too small, and the Internet loads slowly in comparison to broadband. Generally speaking, it's not the same experience that Internet users are accustomed to.

The experts were wrong. On Christmas morning in 2007, hundreds of thousands of people unwrapped new iPhones, set them up, and immediately got online. In fact, Google's mobile search statistics for the iPhone platform that morning were higher than searches for all other mobile platforms combined.

What was this? People actually wanted to surf the Web on their phone? Well, maybe not as much on those tiny 1-by-1-inch screens, but when the form factor for devices changed, suddenly everyone wanted in. The iPhone and other cell phones like it now offer slightly larger screens and better controls that are more conducive to using the mobile Internet. There are roughly 200 different models of cell phones available in the U.S. market, about a third of which are well designed for mobile surfing

A new giant is born, although it's not quite giant-size just yet. As with all children, though, ...