The short answer is “YES!” It has become very important for businesses doing SEO in Livermore and other places to have a mobile site along with a regular business website.

Mobile devices are becoming more and more often the tool of choice when searching – whether the search is to find information, a location, or for shopping. Because of this trend, Google is also more and more moving toward a mobile-primary mindset. Results now generally show mobile-friendly sites first, and newer updates in Google reflect this movement away from desktop and toward mobile.

Links, while still important, seem to be superseded to some degree by Google’s personalized and predictive searches. This makes sense when you consider that mobile devices are generally personal, and Google devices in the home (such as Google Home) are also used primarily by only a few people (or even only one), resulting in personal data becoming more useful for Google’s predictive searches.

Additionally, voice searches have become more popular, both due to home devices and the ability for mobile devices to use voice searching. Voice searching minimizes the need for correct spelling when searching and allows for more specific searching. It is also wise to consider including engaging images and video that relate to your product or service, as image searching and video searching are increasing.

SEO for location is more important than ever with this trend, as well, because those who search on mobile devices are often on the go, and their location is a key factor for the results displayed by Google. For a business to show up in results to those searching for their product or service in their area, its website must be mobile-friendly AND must include its location information. Therefore, focusing SEO efforts on mobile sites with appropriate information is imperative.

Unlike previous years, when mobile search has been considered a specialization of SEO, it is now the primary focus. Google’s intentions, as indicated by its activities, is that all search is mobile search. Google has announced mobile-first indexing, a statement which reinforces its actions. And this makes sense when you consider that over half of all traffic to websites is now from mobile devices.

This is not, however, saying that desktop sites should be discontinued or neglected. Many people do still use a desktop primarily for searching, and this – while declining – is not likely to be insignificant for a long time yet.

Still, it is very important to be sure your site has a mobile version of some sort (responsive, adaptive, m. site, etc.) and that content is presented in both versions. Both need to be user-friendly in order to keep visitors returning. If you choose to use a separate mobile site, be aware that inbound links will only point to EITHER the mobile site OR the desktop site, and consider the strategy necessary to keep both ranking well.

So, are mobile sites important for SEO, Livermore? Yes. Absolutely, yes.