In the last 5 years, there has been a huge shift in the IT industry. Most users realized that smartphones can do everything a PC can, and sometimes even more. This re-shaped the software markets for both computers and mobile devices. The latter has become the main platform for most daily procedures.
Of course, the change of direction in the IT industry also had a huge impact on digital marketing and SEO. For example, websites that have a decent mobile version are more likely to be ranked higher on the results page by Google, making them more popular. But to even be noticed by a search algorithm, any application or website needs to utilize particular SEO techniques and elements.
There are dozens of different ones. Some of them are outdated while some only start gaining recognition in the search engine optimization industry. But the core elements remain the same. One of those is keywords. For mobile applications, using the right ones and optimizing the technical side are crucial points in their success. This goes especially for hybrid apps, which are basically websites in the form of downloadable programs.
Yet, finding the right keywords and adjusting the code to fit into the search algorithms better isn’t an easy task by any means. That’s why most experts recommend hiring a professional technical SEO agency for this matter. They ensure that your marketing investments will be used to make the whole campaign as efficient and successful as possible.
However, not every company has the funds or time to pay someone to do the keyword research for them. Knowing at least the basic principles of it and how to perform it can be of great help. Especially to supervise the effectiveness of the marketing campaign and SEO aspects.
Mobile vs Desktop
First of all, let’s find out why mobile keyword research is even a separate process. Why can’t we just use the same algorithm as for desktop? What is the difference? Well, the first distinction is based on a very simple concept. Mobile users tend to type less because it’s either less convenient, or they’re on the go.
Secondly, most of us usually make typos when searching for something on a smartphone. Right, auto-correct helps a lot, but sometimes it doesn’t notice the mistakes or lags and misses them. And the most important thing—mobile queries tend to be location-based much more often.
All these factors change the shape of the whole marketing process in general. For example, keywords become much shorter, cost-per-click is significantly lower than on desktops, and click-through-rate is much higher. Also, when analyzing different marketing and SEO aspects, many human habits and details of the routine must be taken into consideration.
Here’s the most basic example. People tend to use smartphones for much shorter periods of time. They are more likely to take the phone out of the pocket, scroll the feed for 5-10 minutes, and then put it back down. On PC, they would probably spend much more time doing different things. This influences the marketing approach a lot and mobile keyword ranking trends too.
Analyzing
Just like in any business process, first, you need to analyze the initial factors. It’s needed to find the right keywords for your niche and your particular project. Start by checking the most popular ones, and making them more specific. Also, there are dozens of different tools to help you in this matter.
Pay attention to the most successful and popular companies in your sphere. Analyze which keywords they use, and how they insert them. The chances are, the pool is already drained, and all the top companies use the same keywords, making them the least effective ones.
There’s also software that will provide you with a lot of helpful data and statistics. Monitor the most popular queries in a particular location, the most used devices and browsers, and all the other details. Because such seemingly tiny factors can help you come up with the perfect keywords and win the competition inside the search algorithm.
Voice Search
Voice search is another thing that makes mobile SEO different. Because many users tend to ask their phones, instead of typing the question. This means, most spoken queries are going to look like this: “Where is the nearest car wash?” instead of “Best carwash in Chicago”. The first words are usually:
- How
- Why
- Where
- Who
- What
This is probably the only exception in the rule that mobile keywords tend to be shorter, as most voice-searched questions are long and sometimes barely understandable. And generally, they’re related to a certain location too. Including such keyphrases or the answers to them is a good way to receive a lot of traffic.
Location-Based Search
A huge part of all the queries from mobile phones is related to a particular location. That’s because the users want to find something in the area they’re in, or where they’re going. It can be anything, from a cinema to a hospital. In any case, all of these queries are related to a particular location.
To get all the advantages, one must make sure that the application/website indicates where it’s situated. This way, the search engine will take it into consideration and will put your company on the list of the recommended services in that area. Most location-related key phrases include the words “near me”, “nearby” or the name of the area you’re interested in.
Obviously enough, this is only useful for the companies that interact with the customers physically. Because if you’re an online service, people probably won’t look for companies of such type in a particular district. Also, keep in mind that you can only rank for the keywords that are related to your true location. You can’t trick the search engines into thinking your company is in a different place.
Short Length
As mentioned previously, keywords for mobile applications and websites are almost always shorter than their analogs on desktop. This is the main factor that you should always keep in mind, as it makes the whole search much harder. Why? Because we all know that the more specific a keyword is, the more traffic it will bring.
With a shortened length, making them specific is pretty hard, but possible. Try to omit the most common ones in your niche, and opt for the less used and local ones. Often, these are location-based keywords, which we explained previously. So, instead of using “best restaurants in New York”, go for “restaurant Brooklyn”.
It will remove you from the competition over the whole area of New York and will make your SEO much more efficient. Also, many questions and queries can be reformulated into shorter ones. For instance, instead of “how to make your cycling session more efficient”, use “efficient cycling training”. It makes the query shorter, more specific, and still carries the same meaning.
Summing Up
Keyword research is something that has a pretty easy-to-understand concept but is really hard to become an expert at. It requires a lot of practice, knowledge, and experience to perform effectively. That’s why most marketing professionals recommend using special services to get the best result. Yet, no matter if you hire someone or do the whole process yourself, we wish you good luck with your search engine optimization and marketing campaign!
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