Search Engine Optimization and Responsive Web Design Why mobile responsive design is so important for SEO According to a multitude of studies, close to half of all internet searches come from a mobile device. When searching and viewing results on their mobile devices, web searchers expect the websites they visit to be just as easy to view and navigate as it would be on a desktop computer. And if a site isn’t mobile friendly, that searcher will quickly leave the site to find one that is. This is why you need to have a mobile responsive web design. A responsive web design means that your site automatically adjusts to look its best on whatever device it is being viewed on. Using a mobile responsive web design helps reduce bounce rate, increase usability and user experience and have an overall positive impact on SEO optimization. Mobile Responsive Design vs. a Separate Mobile Site While we are focusing on mobile responsive design here, it is important to note that there is another option to make your ecommerce more mobile friendly and that is creating a separate, mobile site for mobile device users. However, making a separate mobile site proves to be more expensive, time consuming, and less effective than employing a responsive design. Having a separate mobile site will require separate URLs which means your traffic could be split in two if proper precautions aren’t taken, lowering your search rankings. Having a separate mobile site also requires you to have duplicate content, meaning that a searcher could be brought to the mobile version when searching on a computer and vice versa, making for a less than ideal user experience. Appeasing Google and Other Top Search Engines A responsive web design is also important because it is part of the ranking system that Google and other search engines use to evaluate your site. When someone is using Google on a mobile device, Google will rank mobile and mobile responsive websites higher than their non-mobile competition. Having a website that usually ranks high on search engines, but isn’t mobile friendly, will be of little use to your business when trying to attract mobile viewers and shoppers. Reducing Bounce Rate If a mobile searcher clicks on your site’s link on a search engine, but notices instantly that it is hard to view on their device, they will most likely leave your site and return to the search engine results in a matter of seconds. Not only will you lose a potential customer, the search engine will also hold it against you. The higher the bounce rate, the more negative the impact on your search engine ranking. Having a mobile responsive design will at least keep searchers interested in your site, and keep them from clicking the back button at first sight. Deliver a Better User Experience The usability of a website and its users’ experiences are also factored into a site’s search engine rankings. A mobile responsive web design helps you offer an easy to use, view, and navigate website no matter what device the user is on. Being able to easily read your content of find what they are looking for on your website helps users have a positive experience with your site, making it attractive to both the viewer and to search engines. Clarity Can Help For nearly a decade, Clarity has been helping businesses improve their SEO and search engine rankings. Our team of SEO experts are highly knowledgeable when it comes to all things SEO and stays current on all changes to major search engine algorithms. We have helped numerous clients upgrade their sites to a responsive design that both increases their customer satisfaction and helps their search engine rankings. To find out more about mobile responsive design or to speak with an expert about a mobile responsive design for your ecommerce site, call or click to contact us today!