A new report by The Internet Society illustrates how the rise of mobile technology is affecting the world around us. The report, which is titled Internet Society Global Internet Report 2015: Mobile Evolution and Development of the Internet, discusses the increased dependency on apps, issues that this dependency can cause, and recommendations for policymakers.
The report found that internet penetration is not happening as fast as mobile internet penetration. In 2013, there were about 1.97 billion mobile users, which equates to around 28% of the overall population. However, by 2019 that number is expected to grow to almost 71%. That jump in numbers is enough to stress the importance of mobile optimization.
Some of the other issues that the report details include cyber security, privacy, competition, and cost. It also included information on techniques such as SEO.
SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, is a combination of techniques to gain internet exposure. It is designed to help a company increase its visibility on search engine result pages, which can translate to higher sales.
Research shows that most people stay on the first page of Google’s search results before either choosing a website or moving on to another search. So if your business doesn’t rank on that page, you’re losing potential consumers. That is where SEO comes in.
SEO optimization falls under two categories: white hat and black hat. White hat techniques are deemed appropriate methods by search engines. These methods are safe and businesses will see long-term results. However, there are also black hat methods. These are disapproved of and can lead to issues such as a ranking penalty or total removal from the search engine if caught.
In order to optimize your website, improvements fall under a few categories: link building, better user experience, and social media presence.
Link Building
Google ranks pages by how helpful they are to users — and deduces what is helpful by how many people are talking about your page. They do this by scouring the web for other sites that are linking to the content on your site. The more links back to your site, the more helpful Google thinks your content is to its users, leading to a higher ranking.
User Experience
When was the last time you waited, say, 30 seconds, for a webpage to load? Google takes points away from sites that take longer to load for a reason: they’re frustrating to consumers. Making a site optimized for phones and tablets is key for many companies. In fact, 62% of businesses saw a sales increase once they optimized each one.
Social Media Presence
This kind of goes back to the link building aspect. Google can see who is talking about different pages, and often knows to what capacity. So the more people who are sharing your content, the higher your ranking.