The Mobile Change Nobody Is Talking About

Besides "Mobilegeddon," there's another mobile change from Google that no one is paying muchattention to.

Hidden beneath the outcry of the SEO community was a big change Google made that wasn't thenew mobile algorithm. As usual, Google is thinking three steps ahead when it comes to the growth ofmobile search traffic and on April 16 Google made an important announcement. Apps that haven'tbeen installed will now rank within mobile search results. Previously, only installed apps would rankwithin your mobile search results. This experience will only happen on Android devices along withGoogle Play apps for now.

Why is this change such a big deal? Google is quietly struggling with the drastic increase of mobilesearch. Real estate on a mobile device already limits the opportunity for Google to maximize adspace. Furthermore, Amazon has also been a thorn in its side by stealing e-commerce traffic, anissue that gave birth to Product Listing Ads. All of these factors are quite detrimental to Google'sbottom-line. This app indexing update was another attempt to combat Amazon and other majorretailers. The issue at hand is user experience in mobile search.

Generally, mobile users convert at one-third the rate of desktop users overall and mobile shoppersconvert 160 percent more often on sites optimized for smartphones. This is clearly the main reasonfor the new mobile algorithm. The sad truth is that even with a mobile-friendly website, conversionrates are still well below desktop traffic, a strong indicator of poor user experience. Google doesn'twant users to change their search habits from starting at Google to beginning their shoppingjourney at Amazon. Thus the reason for the app index update - it is an attempt to improve userexperience for shoppers.

A great example of increased app UX is entering credit card information, which is one of the reasonsconversion rates are lower on mobile. A loyal brand shopper that has downloaded an app wouldgenerally have this information stored within the app. Therefore, removing this barrier and otherswould theoretically increase conversion rates and provide Google shoppers with a better userexperience. Beyond storing credit card information, a mobile app strategy needs to consider all thefactors your customer needs for a better shopping experience with your brand. Google is heading ina direction that is optimal for its users and you have to find ways to cohesively fit your brand intoGoogle's vision of the customer journey. If app indexing provides the proper lift for Google, expect tosee this rolled out globally as well as potentially including Apple apps. If that happens, SEO for appswill be the next major trend and this update was your warning.

Now that you have a mobile-friendly website, what is your app strategy and how does it fit withinyour SEO strategy?

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