Google Gives Mobile Search a Boost

Google just made it easier for mobile users to find the content they want on your website. Provided, that is, that your business has a strong SEO strategy. Expandable site links and Quick View cards in mobile search are two updates the leading search engine unveiled in a post this week.

According to the post on Google's Inside Search blog, the updates help mobile users to more quickly access web pages. "When you're searching for information on the go, speed matters," software engineers Hiroshi Mizuno and Alex Fischer write.

The new expandable site links on the Google search engine results page (SERP) reduces the number of steps a user must take to access a page within a website.

When a user wants to access a certain page, he or she no longer has to click a website home page first to reach that page. The mobile user can simply click the page link under that website title on the SERP.

The update affects most people with a business website. The emphasis on web page title tags is more crucial than ever. If your page titles have confusing wording, users are not likely to click through to the pages, and your company could miss a views or potential sale.

In addition, the update provides your business site the opportunity to increase its rank on the SERP. You can boost SEO strength of a page if you match at least one keyword in the title to keywords used in the body text of the page. Google compares the page title with its content to help determine your site placement on SERPs.

The second mobile update is the Quick view card. The cards currently apply only to Wikipedia articles in English language searches. A card appears as a blue button that's linked to a Wikipedia entry. Clicking the button brings up the Wikipedia page on the mobile screen.

According to the blog post, "quick view is an experimental project" and, in addition to Wikipedia, Google plans to expand the cards to other sites. You can submit your website for the trial using the trial sign-up form. By taking part in the project, your business has the opportunity to quickly provide page content to potential consumers.

As the average consumer turns more to mobile devices rather than desktop computers for online shopping, the mobile search updates are likely to continue to roll out. Plan now to optimize your site for mobile customers.