SEO in 2008: Upwardly Mobile

by Damian Burke

In a recent interview with Matt Cutts, he was asked what he reckoned would be the most important aspects of SEO in 2008. Surprise, surprise, he noted the most important element to be fresh, quality content - and lots of it.

Number two on his list of insider tips for the year was personalisation - knowing your target audience and supplying them with what they’re looking for. And with that comes local or geographical specificity through Google Directory and things like that (you can read a bit more about that here).

At number four is the buzz that's been happening in two million pockets around the globe. Mobile connectivity, and all the wonderful successes and misadventures that are bound to occur as the industry leaves infancy and toddles into the leap year.

As the link between wireless network suppliers and Search Engines becomes a more profitable one, the medium has set a new precedent to the SERP game. Due to its limited capacity by things such as screen size, Search providers are having to limit their results, and are opting for customisable searches, and specific SERP's. Ah ha ha, it seems personalisation, specificity and mobility are this year's SEO hot buttons.

Mobile Search is not quite onto solids yet. As the industry invents itself, and providers scrabble for their piece of the pie, statistics and predictions are scattered and hazy at best. SEO Round Table estimate the number of mobile users by the end of 2009 to be at 3 billion. This is a staggering figure, but even after discounting those that are not technologically "with us", current Mobile Search Engines aren't the homepage of most cellphones and PDAs. Users have shown to be more specific with their mobile surfing, and traffic is more destination-based, as opposed to general browsing. They are, after all, users on the move.

But this all makes me think of the hackneyed old chicken vs. egg analogy. Are the providers not getting the traffic they're hoping for because the transfer between traditional computers and lifestyle remote controls isn't quite what everyone expected? Or is it because providers haven't quite figured out the best way to give John Doe what he's looking for?

As Cindy Krum, Senior Analyst at Blue Moon Works put it, the user has not been provided with a "predictable experience". It seems giants like Google and Yahoo! and left scratching their heads along with thousands of others. The solution could come from anywhere on the globe.

Mobile SEO specialists are popping up all over the Internet:

    * Bryson Meunier
    * Andy Hagans
    * Mobile Search Marketing

...but no one seems to be offering any sound advice, just services at a monthly cost. Everyone seems to be keeping their cards close to their chests - but in my opinion; they’re bluffing! How can they be they be holding the nut pre-flop? No one can be ahead if the rules have yet to be set. All the while Mobile Search plays Go Fish! The traditional Web Design and Search Engine Optimisation rules will still apply, but the simpler and slimmer the better. And the variety of wireless devices and browsers is another thing to consider in mobile web development.
 
Until Mobile Search starts grow up and is ready to stand proudly on two legs, it's difficult to tell which way it will fall. But one thing is for sure; due to the specificity and beneficial limitations of the medium, this year Mobile Search will definitely be the "fish" at the table you'll regret not putting your money behind.

2008/01/28 | permalink | comments (4) | trackbacks (0)

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