Search marketing: Six tips for mobile search success

As part of a series on search marketing trends, The Drum speaks to six industry experts to establish their tips for mobile search success.

Mobile search has grown 500 per cent in the past two years, with 95 per cent of smartphone users searching for information regularly. Among the advantages of mobile search for brands is building location data into search results, providing the possibility for more targeted recommendations (in the case of retailers/branded apps, for example). But what are the key recommendations for mobile search success? Increase engagement with social integrationTo maximise the impact of your mobile pages, integrating social media links on every mobile page is a must. Mobile users are continually connected to their social media accounts – providing easy social sharing will boost your exposure, traffic and engagement. The mobile user’s intent is not the same as desktop intent – they tend to want to be ‘entertained’. Jonathan Russell, SEO executive, StickyeyesKnow what users wantBe customer centric – which broadly means understand exactly what the mindset is of the customer and give them what they want! In other words, create a win-win situation. Sri Sharma, managing director and founder, Net Media PlanetResponsive designYour site must be easy to use on a mobile and a tablet. Too many UK brands still have sites that don’t work or are simply clunky. This was the year of the mobile, and whilst we might be behind the world on 4G launching, the trend will only continue. Duncan Parry, COO, STEAKAdjust keyword targeting for mobileUse your current keyword focus as a starting point and start the keyword research process again – don’t assume that your paid mobile campaigns will exactly match your online or you’ll have gaps. Al Mackin, CEO, theEwordEnsure your site is search engine friendlyIf you have a separate mobile website to your regular desktop site, it is imperative you signal to search engines how the two sites relate to each other in the correct way. Not doing so can result in a whole heap of serious issues, including duplicate content penalties and search engines indexing the wrong content entirely. To ensure search engines are aware that you have a mobile website and that it is correctly indexed, you must inform them of which site is for desktop users and which is for mobile users. Paul Martin, SEO manager, EpiphanyThis feature was published as part of The Drum's search marketing supplement. Mobile image via Shutterstock