Why I Bought 3 iPads … And the Top 3 Mobile SEO Tips

Mobile Web is changing the SEO landscape. Are you prepared for what lies ahead? Yeah, in 2012, Mobile SEO will be important!

Friday evening while I was out Christmas shopping, I picked up on a conversation about mobile SEO. Co-owners of a family business were shopping at Best Buy for a new mobile phone.  The daughter explained to her father how people are using mobile phones to shop online, look up reviews, redeem coupons, etc. She tried to convince her father that his website sales will plummet because he’s out of touch with today’s modern way of marketing. The father couldn’t wrap the idea around his mind how someone would use a mobile phone to search online.  Why not search from their desktop computer (or laptop) from the comfort of their home or office? He rebuffed the daughter’s advice and decided to stick with his traditional marketing methods.

The father is not alone; there are many businesses who feel the same way. What these entrepreneurs fail to realize is that mobile Web usage is no longer the wave of the future – ready or not, the future is here.  Everywhere you go, whether you’re traveling on business or enjoying your favorite beverage at a coffee house, it seems like everyone has an iPhone, Blackberry, or other smartphone. They’re not just making phone calls, downloading music, and watching the latest YouTube videos. Mobile phone users are getting discounts from QR codes at restaurants, searching for products, and conducting business transactions. Who has time to wait until they get home to book a flight or to redeem a coupon? Why wait when you can use your mobile phone as your personal computer?

According to experts, mobile Web usage is going to overtake desktop Web usage by 2014.  The upsurge in mobile phone usage will be an Internet marketer's dream and a threat to those who refuse to embrace change.

Are you convinced that mobile phone usage is overrated or just a fad?  Here are three ways Internet usage is going to change the SEO landscape.
 

Mobile Search By Image

Web tools like Google Goggles allows you to instantly search online by using images on your phone or photos taken on the spur of the moment. This sort of technology allows a consumer to take a picture of a product in a store to compare prices. You can also use a photo of a restaurant to find reviews online. In order for this to work for your business, your imagery and content must be optimized for this type of search.
 

Voice Search

Voice search on mobile phones through the Apple iPhone’s Siri or Google is becoming very popular. Although this is making searching online a lot faster, it is important to note that people often search a lot differently when they speak. For instance, your customer may type-search “bakeries nyc” and voice search “where are the bakeries in NYC.” This will have a great impact on a website’s keyword targeting.

Using Mobile Phones to Type-Search

There is no question that using a desktop or laptop keyboard is much easier and faster than using a mobile phone. This means that users will search online for shorter keyword strings on their phones. They will also use tools like Google Suggest or predictive text. This will influence the way people optimize their website and how they conduct their link-building strategy.

Although mobile Web is still at its beginning stages, it will have a great impact on every website owner regardless of their industry. The bottom line is, mobile Web is changing the SEO landscape whether we’re prepared for it or not.

Ipads and Prison

So, I bet you are still wondering about the 3 iPads (bought as Christmas gifts). Well actually they're "tablets": one for my wife (an ASUS Slider – she will not do anything without a keyboard), one for my mother (a Kindle Fire – more like an iPad with training wheels), and one ASUS Transformer for my brother (he loves anything cool). Just think how many people are getting tablets for the holidays?

I was there at 8:30a.m. so the store just opened. So here's the rub: the guy at Best Buy, who has to hand out the tablets from the locked cage box, said it was much akin to a prison sentence for his job; in 3 hours, the level of demand for the tablets had grown to Warzone proportions in the store. And he behind the cage, just like a prisoner, must face the Mobile Tablet fury – and that's what's happening very quickly. We are going through a sweeping change of mobile beyond the phone.

Now, pardon me as I video Skype my brother on his tablet.