How to Create Mobile Specific Content Campaigns For Mobile-First Index

How to Create Mobile Specific Content Campaigns For Mobile-First Index

On the other, you have your mobile site. And when you look at the overall device market share, mobile devices are starting to push out desktops in a major way. But what does this mean for creating content on your site? First, you need to find out what content is the best to create. First of all, if you’re not using video marketing, now is the time to start. Elements like where you host your video, embedded vs. non-embedded video, and where the video is featured make a difference in how Google views your site. Now, when a user visits their site on either mobile or desktop, they can see a well-optimized video. That means the content you create needs to be able to load quickly on a mobile device. By optimizing your site with AMP pages, you can decrease the load time of your content and start seeing more conversions. Start by making your content easy to read with some basic formatting changes.

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mobile-specific-content-campaigns

Every year, Google makes around 500-600 changes to their search engine.

And every year, entrepreneurs, SEOs, and everyone else have to scramble to catch up with whatever they change.

But now and then, Google shows us their hand.

One such instance is with mobile-first indexing.

Since 2016, Google has been experimenting with methods that will allow them to implement mobile-first indexing for their search engine.

They haven’t been too quiet about it either.

But with a recent update, the long wait is finally over.

Google has started migrating sites that follow mobile best practices over to mobile-first indexing.

And while Google has promised to tell everyone when their site has switched, you shouldn’t be waiting around to adjust your content strategy.

If you’re a business that relies on content marketing to succeed, you need to be aware of how these changes are going to affect you.

So to ease your mind and give you direction, I’ve put together the best tips and tactics to help you create a mobile-first content campaign.

But first, I want to give you a clear picture of what mobile-first indexing really means for your content campaigns.

What is mobile-first indexing?

The easiest way to conceptualize mobile-first indexing is to think of your website as two different entities that work together as a whole.

On the one hand, you have a desktop site.

On the other, you have your mobile site.

When a search engine crawls your website, it recognizes that there are two “distinct” versions of it and weights them accordingly.

Since the creation of search engines and the invention of mobile web browsing, Google and other search engines have been more focused on your desktop site.

But with mobile-first indexing, Google has shifted its focus to put a greater emphasis on your mobile site.

In other words, your mobile site is going to be viewed as the primary version instead of your desktop site.

Which means in theory, if you’ve already created a mobile-friendly site you shouldn’t have much to worry about.

But when it comes to content, you need to do more than just be mobile-friendly if you want to take advantage of a mobile-first index.

For one thing, it’s likely that your website infrastructure will be more important than ever due to the fact that mobile browsing can quickly become muddled or confusing.

A flat architecture like the one depicted above makes your content easier to access, which means it’s also easier for search engines to crawl and index.

And all of this plays a role in your content by providing a better user experience and boosting your SEO.

But beyond the technical aspects of making an easy-to-browse site, why is it important for you to create mobile-friendly content for a mobile-first index?

Google’s announcements should have been enough to turn your head in the first place.

But that presents a deeper question.

Why is Google deciding to switch now?

To answer that, you have to look at some hard data on mobile use.

Simply put, it’s skyrocketing.

According to the cross-platform researchers from comScore, users are spending almost twice as much time browsing on a mobile device than a desktop.

It isn’t just an American trend. It’s a worldwide movement.

And when you look at the overall device market share, mobile devices are starting to push out desktops in a major way.

Since 2016, smartphones have gained an additional 7.4% of the total market share for web browsing devices.

That means mobile devices are absolutely taking over the scene when it comes to content consumption as well.

And if mobile devices are becoming the standard for users, it only makes sense that Google would choose now to transition to a mobile-first index.

But what does this mean for creating content on your site?

It means if you want to avoid getting blacklisted, you need to start taking steps now to create mobile-specific content that Google can rank highly.

In the past, when Google’s algorithm has undergone a major change like this, you see some top brands suddenly disappear from the front page.

So what can you do to start preparing for this major change?

First, you need to find out what content is the best to create.

With almost a third of mobile content coming in the form of social posts and “multimedia” content, not everything is going to perform like you’re used to on a desktop.

Finding which content you should focus on and then optimizing it for mobile is the only safe method that will help you get ahead when the changes finally come.

I want to show you some mobile content creation methods you can use that will help you generate content that performs well on mobile from every angle.

And to start things off, I want to talk about your blog.

Mobile Method #1: Create easy-to-read content

First, you have to understand that creating mobile-friendly content is about more than just responsive design.

Don’t get me wrong. Responsive design is a great start.

And you’ll definitely need one as mobile-first indexing rolls out more.

But you can still create poor mobile content on a responsive site.

I see it all the time.

Creating mobile-friendly content may require a bit more effort, but it’s ultimately worth your time and attention.

For example, the traditional “F-shaped” blog content no longer seems to work well, simply because mobile devices have less space on their screen.

You’ll notice that based on this heatmap, users on a desktop tend to move from top to bottom and left to right in a fairly predictable pattern.

But a mobile site often doesn’t include the same header style as a desktop, which means this model isn’t very practical anymore.

Instead, it’s been determined that mobile users tend to look in the upper-center part of their screen.

So from their first glance, your mobile visitors expect a different type of formatting for your blog content.

It’s also been confirmed by Google that expandable text boxes are also a mobile-friendly feature.

That means you can collapse your lengthy content to a more browser-friendly user.

And if someone wants to read more, it won’t get in the way of their user experience.

Then as you dig a little deeper into mobile-specific content creation trends, you’ll find plenty of other pieces of advice as well:

Use short paragraphs

The old-school format of large blocks of text has disappeared online.

Instead, we’ve transitioned to a different style of writing that emphasizes shorter, one-thought paragraphs that focus on how thoughts flow.

With at least 55% of mobile users using blockwise scrolling, your paragraphs will dictate whether your content is actually read.

Implement whitespace

Whitespace is the element of your design where, in one sense, no design actually exists.

But this actually has a very important function, because it helps draw the eye to certain spaces on the screen.

With mobile having less screen real estate, it’s easy to overlook how whitespace can be used.

In one case, Xerox was able to use whitespace to increase their purchase percentage by 33%.

Danielle Duggan from Blue Corona shared this awesome example of what whitespace looks like on mobile content:

Notice how there’s a little room to breath in between each element on the page?

This allows your attention to move from thought to thought without distraction.

Remember to use whitespace in your own content to help users stay focused on your copy and images.

Include subheads

Leaving your content as a blank map might sound adventurous, but it’s more likely to backfire.

Instead, consider including subheads to help your user navigate your site and its content with ease.

In one case study, California Closets increased submissions by 115% on a landing page simply by improving their headings and subheadings.

Don’t leave user experience to chance.

The more you help users have to navigate your content on mobile, the better off you’ll be.

Add a summary of your content

When mobile users come to your site, they expect a quick experience.

That same principle applies to your content.

And one of the best ways to help them find what they came for is to include a summary or table of contents.

This allows them to digest and find what they need in your post.

And when they find what they want, they’ll keep coming back to your content in the future.

Use mobile-friendly images

When you add images to a blog post, you need to make sure that they will be responsive across all devices.

But you also have to consider that putting images in your content increases the risk that it might slow everything down.

In those cases, you need a way to make your images smaller without sacrificing quality.

Consider educating yourself on the steps to optimize images in your blog posts and mobile web pages to help everything load quickly.

When possible, add a list or bullets

List-based articles, also known as listicles, are one of the most popular content formats on the web.

The reason they’re so popular is because they’re easy to read, digest, and share without having to dig too deep.

It’s what makes an article like this from Buzzfeed so popular.

When possible, creating a list like this will help you engage with your readers on mobile devices.

Since it’s short and sweet, you can keep their attention and possibly even convince them to share.

To some degree, all of these are more design elements than they are about your content.

But the point here is that using these elements correctly can elevate good content that no one would read due to poor mobile formatting.

Just look at how I implement some of these content design ideas on my own mobile site:

When used well, design helps create flow and will make your content easier to read.

If you just use paragraph blocks and leave no whitespace, people will get bored because they can’t skim.

And we’ve known that readers primarily skim since 1997.

At this point, you may be wondering if all of this advice is data-backed and…

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