Basics of mobile content marketing

Despite the rise in mobile browsing, many sites still rely on responsive page designs to fill the gap. Be quick if you haven’t got one already because since last year Google has been downgrading sites that are not ‘mobile friendly’.

But there are other things you can do to maximise traffic besides having a site design that changes shape with the window.

One is to interrogate your analytics. It may be that a large proportion of your mobile traffic comes through at the same time. If that is the case, it is worth thinking about making your content more mobile-friendly.

How to design mobile

People read or view content differently on a mobile. On a desktop their attention generally goes first to the top left-hand corner (notice where LinkedIn and Facebook put their nav bars).

But on a mobile the focus is on the middle of the screen. The smaller screen size also make pictures stand out. So much so that they can pull the eye away from any text.

Cut the text to a minimum. You should write short, succinct sentences as separate paragraphs. And consider using bullet points more frequently. Mobile content is often scanned, for which bullet points can work well.

Ensure your content will be easy to distribute by adding some share buttons. One effect of mobile is that links appear less obvious than on the desktop, so social buttons are the best way to get it out there.

SEO

The rise in voice search through mobile has also changed SEO. There are likely to be fewer derivatives of keywords, because searching through voice will standardise the spelling of a certain word or phrase. This should eventually create more competition.

Another effect of voice search is that it will allow for more sophisticated queries rather than just two or three words.

Conclusion

To state the obvious, mobile is continuing to evolve. In fact we’re only just at the beginning – WebVR-capable mobile browsers will make virtual reality more accessible, for example.

By following the pointers here you should be able to make the most of the opportunities mobile provides. Remember, just because you work on a desktop or laptop computer it doesn’t mean people will viewing your creations on one.

Basics of mobile content marketing is part of Content24, the blog for London content marketing agency FirstWord.