At SMX West last week, Matt Cutts hinted that he would not be surprised to see mobile search queries surpass that of traditional PC searches. This comment refers to global search volume as a whole where currently 30% of all searches globally are on mobile devices. The United States as has a 30/70 mobile to PC search ratio, but in foreign countries, mobile search volumes are much higher. As seen in the graphic below, India currently has a mobile search volume closer to 65%.
Is your Website Mobile Compatible?
The idea of search queries reaching 50% higher globally should have those website owners without a mobile website scared. Essentially your website could be eliminating 50% of the total people that find your site. We could argue if a mobile site or a responsive site is better, but either one will help you capture the mobile users that find your site on their mobile devices. You should also see if your site is built with flash. Flash does not work on Apple products, eliminating iPads and iPhones. Where possible, avoid using flash on your responsive website.
If you are not sure whether or not your site is mobile friendly, try searching your site on an android phone, iPhone and iPad device. Check to see if your website looks proper and if you are able to navigate properly. Also notice how long your site takes to load on each device. Load time is a contributing factor to SEO and also should be taken into consideration for how user friendly your site is. Use your own personal experience while searching the web. Do you normally leave a website if it takes a long time to load?
If you are asking what you can do to help your website in 2014, my best suggestion is to make sure that you are mobile user friendly. While this may not put you ahead of the game, at least you are now in a position to capture anyone who may find your site.
By Matthew Wilkos