Mobile is becoming an increasingly important traffic channel, and given recent developments like app indexation and AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages), as well as the addition of new types of devices like wearables and smart tech, understanding how it fits into the bigger search marketing picture is more crucial than ever. This session will take a look at the history of mobile search, how mobile search behaviour has impacted on desktop search, the growing significance of app content and developments such as AMP and app streaming within the search marketing landscape, and some thoughts on where the future of search is heading.

1. “We used to talk about whether or not we
were in the year of mobile…
but we are actually in
the Age of Mobile.”

2. A brief jaunt down memory lane

3. 2000-2012:
total internet usage
vs mobile data usage
12x
Source

4. 2013’s big question:
“What should my mobile
strategy be?”

5. What does this mean for mobile search?

6. And sure enough, in 2016...
Mobile has become
the preferred way
to browse the web.

7. Proof: the story from the stats. Ben Evans.
It wasn’t always like this.

8. It’s because
this happened
2008
Source

9. It’s because
this happened
2008
Source
2016

10. It’s because
this happened
2008
Source
2020
2016

11. now,
52%
of UK internet users say that
mobile is their primary way to access the web.

12. up from only
24%
in 2013.

13. Ben Evans, 2015
“It’s actually the PC that has the
limited, basic, cut-down version of
the internet...it only has the web.”

17. We used to talk about mobile being used “on the go”, and
desktop for “work” and “home”.
Now we recognize that mobile is used in all different
environments and contexts, and often simultaneously with
other devices.

18. We used to talk about how to prevent showrooming.
...that ship has sailed.

19. OH WELL

20. welcome to...

21. The Changing Landscape of
Mobile Search
Bridget Randolph

22. User
Behaviour
Technological
Advances
Ranking
Factors
(Google)
Search
MarketingReactive
Approach

23. 4 key shifts for Google
Mobile First
Mobile
Friendliness
App
Integration
with Web
Search
Page Load
Times and
AMP

24. Mobile
Friendliness
as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed
and
Page Load
Times
App
Integration
with Web
Search
Mobile First
Design of
SERPs
#1
Mobile First
Mobile
Friendliness
Page Load
Times and
AMP

25. Making Desktop Experience
More Like Mobile Experience

26. The old “Google” -
listing style

27. The new “Google” -
card style

28. No more sidebar ads

29. Content
has to become
more flexible.

31. In the news

32. First step(s):
- Account for it in your reporting and tracking
- Consider creating more top-of-funnel landing pages
- Optimize for instant answers and enhanced search -
structured data, rich snippets
Take action

33. - Look for Universal Results reports in common tracking
tools, including
- STAT Analytics
- SEMRush
- Brightedge
- Structured data testing tool
- Content Everywhere by Sara Wachter-Boettcher (2012)
Tools and tips

34. ● Better integration of content within apps
○ Opening developer access to iMessages, Maps
● Cross-device integration
○ Universal Clipboard on OS
○ Siri remote for AppleTV
○ ApplePay on websites
● Less device-specific dependencies
○ Android Wear 2.0 doesn’t require phone
○ Google Auto can integrate directly with car system
● Mobile-first to Machine learning-first
Where’s it heading?

35. #2
Mobile
Friendliness
as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed
and
Page Load
Times
App
Integration
with Web
Search
Mobile First
Design of
SERPs
Mobile First
Mobile
Friendliness
Page Load
Times and
AMP

36. Mobile Friendliness

37. They started with a
“positive” incentive
approach.

38. Google now provides all sorts of tools in Search Console and elsewhere to test mobile friendliness.

39. 81%+
of the top 3
results are
mobile friendly.

40. Google also announced a
4.7%
percentage point increase
in the number of mobile-friendly websites, within
the 2 months between their announcement about
the update and “Mobilegeddon”.
Source

41. First step: make sure your site passes the basic
mobile-friendliness tests.
● Mobile Friendly Testing Tool
● Search Console Mobile Usability Report
● Separate tab on the Pagespeed Insights tool
Take action

42. ● use URL Profiler to check URLs in bulk with the Google
mobile-friendliness tool
● use BrowserStack to simulate mobile browser
experiences
Tools and tips

43. ● Mobile first approach to rankings
○ Mobile page speed will be ranking factor
○ Mobile index will be primary index
● Content accessibility needs don’t stop with smartphones
○ Google Home and similar devices
○ Android Wear 2.0 and other wearables
○ Smart cars and vehicle-integrated apps
● Mobile search is tied to voice search and physical context
○ Optimizing for conversational search and geolocation
Where’s it heading?

44. Mobile
Friendliness
as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed
and
Page Load
Times
App
Integration
with Web
Search
Mobile First
Design of
SERPs
#3
Mobile First
Design of
SERPs
Mobile
Friendliness
Page Load
Times and
AMP

45. Mobile Page Load Times and AMP

46. 40%
of users will
abandon a page that takes too long to load.

47. 3G
Is the dominant network type worldwide.

48. even a
1sec delay
was found to lead to a
7% decrease
in conversions.

49. In the newsIn the news

50. Facebook
Instant Articles
Apple
Newsstand
Native Apps

52. AMP is a set of rules
for developing webpages
which guarantees speed
and forces distribution.

53. It’s basically skeleton HTML
which allows the page to...

54. a) load really quickly
b) be cached by Google
and served directly in
the SERP

55. www.wsj.com/article-headline www.wsj.com/amp/article-headline
https://amp.gstatic.com/v/s/www.
wsj.com/amp/article-headline

57. For the Washington Post, implementing AMP
pages increased mobile return visitors by 23%.
These AMP pages showed 88% faster load time
when compared with regular mobile pages.
Case study: Washington Post

58. Originally AMP was
pitched as a platform
for Google News and
other editorial content.
But it’s now being
supported more widely.

59. First step: decide whether AMP is relevant to you.
You should use AMP if:
● You make a lot of content, particularly editorial content
● You want wider distribution of your content
● Your industry has a high proportion of mobile traffic
● It’s compatible with your business model
Take action

60. Next step: AMP implementation.
● Create AMP supported versions of the pages you want
supported
● If you’re a Wordpress user, you can use a plugin like
Automattic AMP and/or Glue by Yoast
● For ecommerce sites, Google recently posted this guide
to getting started with AMP.
Take action

61. ●
● Mobile-specific tab on the Pagespeed Insights tool
● Resource for running webpagetest.org speed tests multiple times in a Google
spreadsheet
AMP-specific:
● Google’s AMP validation testing tool
● Resource from SEW on AMP implementation for Wordpress
● Google tutorial on implementing AMP
● eBay’s notes on what went well and what was tricky in their implementation
Tools and tips

62. Where’s it heading?
● A single interface for everything - from first query to
checkout.
○ Using a personal assistant app like Siri or Allo to see a
task through from start to finish...
○ e.g. schedule a dinner with calendar, book a table,
order an Uber to the restaurant, and pay for the meal

63. Mobile
Friendliness
as a Ranking
Factor
Site Speed
and
Page Load
Times
App
Integration
with Web
Search
Mobile First
Design of
SERPs
#4
Mobile First
Design of
SERPs
Mobile
Friendliness
Page Load
Times and
AMP

64. App Integration

65. Google needs to
integrate app content
with the rest of the web

66. app indexation.

69. First step:
If you don’t have an app, you may not need one. Ask
yourself:
Would my app...
● Add convenience?
● Offer unique value?
● Provide social value?
● Offer incentives?
● Entertain?
TAKE ACTIONTake action

70. First step:
If you do have an app, make sure it supports http:// (web)
links.
And check out my blog post about how to set up an app for
indexation by Google.
TAKE ACTIONTake action

71. Must-have
Avoid pitfalls
Recommended
● Support deep-linking
● Use web URLs for app views where possible
● Register the app in your Search Console
● Allow appropriate URLs in robots.txt
● Ensure first click free in the app
● Add markup to pages or sitemaps
● Use app indexing API to:
○ Index personal user content
○ Add meta information to app views
○ Enable activities such as voice actions
○ Expose popularity of app views to Google
Checklist for Android app indexing

72. Watch this space
Avoid pitfalls
Must-have
● Support Universal Links
○ Add your domain(s) to associated-domains in app
○ Add URLs handled by the app to apple-app-site-association on domain
● Use web URLs for app views where possible
● Add GoogleAppIndexing registration to your app
● Ensure first click free in the app
● Enable the back button
● Watch out for Google announcing an iOS app indexing API
○ Enables indexing of personal content
○ Allows usage information to be sent to Google
○ Adds meta information
Checklist for iOS app indexing (Google)

73. ● Bridget’s original blog post on app indexation (2015)
● Cindy Krum on Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
● Google guidance on deep linking and app indexation
● Introduction to Firebase
○ Cindy Krum’s Mozcon presentation
Tools and tips

74. Where’s it heading?
● Blurred lines between app content and web content
○ Firebase as centralized app platform
○ App streaming and progressive web apps (PWAs)
○ Google Instant Apps
● Greater integration between apps
○ Pay for things in iMessage, ApplePay on websites, Apple Maps syncing
with calendar and location
○ Single sign-on for Apple TV
● 3rd party developer integrations with Apple core apps
○ iMessage, Maps, Siri

75. Bonus Round

76. ● Mobile browser search (Safari autocomplete)
● Mobile assistants (Siri, Cortana)
● iPhone Spotlight
● App store search (Google Play, Apple App Store)
● Mobile chatbots (Allo, Facebook M)
● Personal index (My Photos, Calendar, Messages)
● ...and more.
The mobile search ecosystem
today - beyond Google

77. ● Google Auto
● Google Home
● Android Wear 2.0
● Apple Air Pods
● Siri on MacOS
Where’s it heading?

78. The future of mobile...

79. “My vision when we started Google 15 years
ago was that eventually you wouldn't have
to have a search query at all.”
Sergey Brin, TED, 2013

80. “The [Google] assistant is an ambient
experience that will work seamlessly
across devices and contexts. ...It builds on
all our years of investment in deeply
understanding users' questions.”
Sundar Pichai, Google I/O, 2016

81. An Intelligent Personal Assistant
(“Machine Learning First”)

82. ● Assistive search
● Getting things done
● In your world
● Powers other services...
Google Assistant

83. ● Case study: WashingtonPost
● Case study: eBay
● Case study: Onnit
Google Home

84. Allo and Duo

85. Personal index
+ public index
+ app content
= a single interface for all searches

86. a single interface for all searches
+ implicit context
+ machine learning
+ artificial intelligence
= intelligent personal assistant

87. First Step:
ask yourself how you can prepare to be the most useful
source from a personal assistant app’s point of view?
TAKE ACTIONTake action

88. User
Behaviour
Technological
Advances
Ranking
Factors
(Google)
Search
Marketing

89. ● physical interaction with individuals and
environment
● Device- and app-agnostic integration
● voice recognition and conversational interaction
Key themes in
new technology

90. User
Behaviour
Technological
Advances
Ranking Factors
(Google)
Search
Marketing

92. www.distilled.net/searchscape
@BridgetRandolph
@Distilled