In a world that is always moving, and continuously pushing the innovation envelope, it’s not surprising to discover that people are becoming increasingly dependent on mobile devices. The mobile device has integrated itself into society quickly, without falter, and with incredible benefits to both the individual consumer and the business market. For us at Octopus Creative, our mobile phones are just one of the tools we use.

Mobile search rates have quickly surpassed desktop search rates, specifically when searching for local businesses. What are you more likely to do when seeking a local seamstress, a local craftsman, a local restaurant or a local marketing sidekick (like us, Octopus Creative!)? You want answers quickly, and what’s quicker than reaching into your pocket for that extended appendage you call your mobile phone?

“People interact with their phones very differently than they do with their PCs, and I think that when you design from the ground up with mobile in mind, you create a very different product than going the other way.” – Kevin Systrom

Google understands that the increase in the use of the search engine via a mobile device is a giant leap forward in the world of digital marketing. Google’s Gary Illyes announced they plan on releasing a separate mobile search index which will become the primary search index.  Over the course of the next few months, Google will be dividing its search index, giving priority to searches done on a mobile device with better, fresher content. While the separate desktop index will be maintained, it will not be as up-to-date as the mobile index.

What does this mean for businesses? It means that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become even more critical for effective digital marketing. Previously, the SEO set for your desktop website would easily translate over into your mobile website. These changes mean that you can set strategic SEO for desktop and mobile device. This will directly impact the use of keywords, allowing businesses to be more strategic in their implementation. Being able to use separate SEO settings for your mobile website compared to your desktop website will increase your audience reach and allow for hyper-targeting. Organizations will be able to strategically market to differentiated target audiences that primarily use their mobile devices, while also increasing traffic to desktop websites by targeting an entirely separate set of keywords for desktop users.

Let’s break it down with an example of a local cleaning business called ‘Sparkle & Shine’. To ensure that their website will reach both mobile device users and desktop users equally, Sparkle & Shine can implement separate keywords for each market. Sparkle & Shine understands that 70% of mobile searches result in an online action within an hour of the search being conducted. Why is this important? By increasing keywords and mobile website options directly targeted to making a sale, Sparkle & Shine can ensure that potential clients will quickly request their cleaning help. Sparkle & Shine is also aware that mobile device users search local businesses with Google more often.  By ensuring their target keywords include their location, Sparkle & Shine will see an increase in clients through their mobile website.

To guarantee that the separate mobile search index will be advantageous for all users, Google has also launched a new testing tool for Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). This tool works on your mobile device and uses Google’s “live web-search infrastructure” to analyze the AMP page with the real Googlebot, which means that the result is done in real time. It will test the validity of the AMP markup and structured data on the page related to AMP and if issues are found, you will be able to click on them to see the details. The line in the source code will be highlighted to show exactly where the error is and you will be able to correct it. The tool even includes links to show you a live preview of how this page will appear in Google’s search results.

Google is the market leader for search engines, with over 4,464,000,000 searches per day and 73% of search engine global search engine use. Talk about all hands on deck in the Google server room!

“Mobile phones are misnamed. They should be called gateways to human knowledge.” – Ray Kurzweil

When it comes to the mobile device, the world is at our fingertips, quite literally. As marketers and entrepreneurs, Octopus Creative is pumped to dive right in and discover how the mobile search index can help all of us achieve our marketing goals!