Get the most important digital marketing news each day.

Note: By submitting this form, you agree to Third Door Media's terms. We respect your privacy.

Google’s shift to mobile-first: mobile moments that matter

Columnist Jim Yu outlines Google's long march toward a mobile-first index and explains why optimizing for mobile devices is no longer optional.

Jim Yu on November 30, 2016 at 1:45 pm

Eric Schmidt predicted that sales of smartphones would surpass PCs more than six years ago, as the then-Google CEO prepared the world for the “mobile-first” culture at the Mobile World Congress in 2010.

Fast forward to today, and we’re witnessing the birth of a new mobile era where consumers interact and convert in what Google describes as mobile micro-moments — the key points of time when a user is interacting with their mobile device because they want to know something, go somewhere, do something or buy something.

As marketers, measuring mobile moments that matter — by understanding and optimizing mobile traffic, mobile engagement, mobile conversion and mobile revenue — is critical to developing a successful mobile-first strategy that improves performance.

Consider the four statistics below;

By 2019, mobile ad spending is expected to increase to $195.55 billion, and mobile ads will account for 70.1 percent of all digital advertising, Source: Venture Beat.

By 2019, PQ Media estimates that content marketing will be a $300+ billion industry.

By 2020, SEO-related spending will be worth $80 billion.

According to Google, 34 percent of online purchases now happen on a mobile device.

Mobile, SEO and content marketing are maturing concurrently and in a synergistic way.

Furthermore, it is clear to me that delivering and optimizing impactful mobile content is going to be the ultimate way to reach target markets at the most opportune times.

Below I give a brief overview of Google’s shift to mobile in the last six years and share some key insights into mobile strategies that help move the needle on performance.

[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Jim Yu

Jim Yu is the founder and CEO of BrightEdge, the leading enterprise content performance and SEO Platform. He combines in-depth expertise in developing and marketing large on-demand software platforms with hands-on experience in advanced digital, content and SEO practices