What are the differences between desktop SEO and mobile SEO?

[Harry P]

Hey guys, what are the differences between desktop SEO and mobile SEO? while I am searching on Google then the results for desktop and mobile devices have got a bit more differences. what SEO factors made it different?

 

[elcidofaguy]

I personally would not split up the term SEO into mobile and desktop... If you want to improve your mobile search results - then make sure that your website is responsive i.e. changes layout for mobile, tablets etc... However beware that just having a responsive website is just a small factor with regards to ranking.... Sites which are not responsive can of course still rank strongly on the SERPs even on mobile search....

 

[Crowd_Town]

As for me there is difference between desktop and mobile SEO. There are nuances and differences in optimizing mobile sites that dont apply to desktop sites, and some that apply more to mobile sites than they do to desktop sites. Also there are different standards for mobile sites because of the different user experience.
First thing is that not all mobile users are searching with keywords. With Voice Search, for example, a mobile user doesnt have to go to the Google home screen and type in a query anymore and that can change how their intent is conveyed. And, sometimes the mobile context is going to change the frequency or type of their needs.
Secondly, a mobile searcher (compared to a desktop searcher) is highly engaged, but is less interested in scrolling than a desktop searcher.

 

[elcidofaguy]

elcidofaguy

When a person speaks into a phone all that they are doing is replicating a person typing a word into search - and with that usually very badly with some funny results lol... and then having to repeat it over and over again... So my point is that voice recognition has nothing to do with SEO... and in particular mobile sites being optimized to rank higher when someone speaks into a phone...

If you want to improve your rankings in general with regards to keywords etc - then make sure to read up on G's Hummingbird algo...As then you will understand better how G crawls and understands a website based on semantic relations... In otherwords consider silos as part of your on-page SEO...

With improving your rankings on mobile search - having a responsive design or redirect to a mobile site has some small influence but its tiny in comparison to the other major factors such as backlinks etc... and silos as just discussed above...

 

[mmninja]

There really isn't any difference, I mean to say that there's no such thing as mobile seo or desktop seo. It's just seo, across the board.

Having said that, if you're targeting more mobile visitors then of course, you want to make sure that the site is mobile friendly and that your users are able to use the site as you intend it to be used and that it loads fast as well.