How Mobile is Changing SEO

Clean up mobile mistakes. Google asked webmasters about common mobile mistakes, and compiled the following list, many of which can be fixed without a major redesign:

• Blocked JavaScript, CSS and image files: In order for Googlebot to see your site as a real user would, always allow access to these files in your site's robots.txt.
• Unplayable content: This consists of certain types of videos or other content that aren't playable on mobile devices, such as license-constrained media or media that requires Flash.
• Faulty redirects: If you have separate mobile URLs, you must redirect mobile users on each desktop URL to the appropriate mobile URL.
• Mobile-only 404s: Some sites serve content to desktop users accessing a URL but show an error page to mobile users. Instead, redirect mobile users to an equivalent mobile page to avoid 404s.
• App download interstitials: This is when websites block the view of pages with a prompt to download the site's native app. Instead, use a small HTML banner at the top of the page.
• Irrelevant cross-links: This is when users are linked to desktop-optimized pages from the mobile version of the site, and vice versa. Check your links to make sure that they point to the correct equivalent page.
• Slow mobile pages: In order to avoid user frustration, ensure your mobile pages load quickly. You can check your page speed with Google PageSpeed Insights.

Take the Free Advice
Google has additional comprehensive advice to help merchants assess where they are in the game and figure out how to evolve their sites, depending on where they are in the development cycle. In addition to the mobile-friendly site assessment test, merchants can find in-depth guides about creating multidevice sites and implementing mobile SEO, from configuring sites for multiple devices to helping search engines understand site configuration. Who says nothing's free? Even the marketing team should take a peek.