Mobile SEO is the process of optimizing your website for smartphones and tablets.
Given that 58% of Google searches are now mobile, you can understand why marketers fuss about it.
As an accommodation provider, it is extremely important to keep your booking website mobile optimized as well.
Following Google’s Mobile-First, all SEO activities are in favor of mobile.
Google ranks mobile-friendly websites over others.
50% of searches are on mobile. Naturally, search giant Google has responded with numerous updates that favor websites that are mobile-friendly, responsive, and fast loading.
If your desktop site is being served up on mobile, you’re in trouble and it is time for an update – PRONTO! Luckily building a responsive site is easy in this day and age. We do not recommend having mobile sites (with an M before the URL) or dynamic sites (content served up based on device type).
Top tips when making your website mobile-friendly. not just for the search engines but for the users:
Ensure you trump the mobile speed test.
You don’t want to miss out on a website visitor just because of your slow website loading. Ask your SEO team or developer to make sure the speed is tested regularly.
Content should be easy to read on mobile.
Play around with a clean and easy to browse journey on your mobile view. The booking step should be easy and visible for mobile visitors. Content (rates, availability, gallery, etc) should be easily readable and not overlapping.
Use HTML5 for video and animated content (a coding language).
HTML5 coding is important especially for your video content. Ask your developer to make sure these are taken care off.
Don’t miss the ‘viewport content’ tag – else your content will look funny on mobile.
Basic SEO tags need to be checked and monitored for better search optimization.
Use styling to your advantage – smaller header images, negative space, and social share buttons.
Even in the Mobile view, text and images make a huge difference. Take care of your placements and if possible do add the social share buttons which can help if a visitor to recommends somebody by sharing your hotel website deal.
Don’t rush into Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).
First, make an analysis or talk to your SEO team and then implement Accelerated Mobile pages. Study them carefully before implementing them.
Small property owners who might not have an SEO team, it is recommended to first study what SEO is and how it can create a difference if you want to promote your property, have a presence online, and attract guests.
This article has been taken from STAAH’s Ebook on Hotel SEO for Beginners
Make sure to discuss all these points with your web developer for your accommodation website. If you are getting more bookers via mobile then it is important to keep your mobile website journey swift and seamless.
Did you know? You can set Mobile-only promotions and packages to attract guests via the Smart Pricing feature in STAAH. So if your Mobile SEO is up to date you can attract more guests and target better.
Today’s bookers while browsing don’t like wasting time and navigate away if a website takes too long to load.
You don’t want to miss a visitor because they might be a potential guest.
In the new normal people are more online now and are constantly searching, being an accommodation provider your booking engine should be also mobile-friendly. STAAH ConvertDirect is designed to move users seamlessly through the booking path. Find out more here
SEO Itself is a broad topic and there are many areas to be covered. If you are new to this, Download our FREE E-book on Hotel SEO for Beginners
