Mobile search and desktop search have been head to head for quite some time. While both mobile and desktop searching methods are used frequently, in a race to the finish, mobile search comes out on top.
Ultimately, there’s not necessarily a competition between mobile and desktop searching. Your main goal should be ensuring that your website is accessible to any user. So naturally, it’s important to know the difference between both.
The Differences Between Mobile and Desktop Searching
Aside from the device used to search, there are some key differences to keep an eye on when optimizing your site for mobile and desktop searching.
- Time spent on both devices. The time spent searching between the two devices is almost the same. In 2017, 51% of the time spent on sites during searches was on a desktop, while mobile took on 49%. Desktop searches averaged a time of about 8 minutes, when mobile searchers stayed on the page for about 5 minutes.
- Voice searching on mobile. Voice search technology has recently become huge in the world of SEO. We talk much differently than we type. Therefore, voice searching on mobile devices gives websites an opportunity to target larger keyword phrases. When you target longer keywords, you get a higher chance of ranking on search engine results pages.
- Total page views. When it comes to page views, mobile takes the lead on this one, having 53% of the 7.8 trillion page views. On average, someone searching on a mobile device will likely click on around 3 pages. Meanwhile, desktop searchers visit around 5 pages.
- Overall visits to a website. If you are looking at the number of overall visits to a website, mobile currently leads by a long shot. A whopping 63% of all searches in the United States happen on a mobile device. Which is why mobile-first indexing on Google is so important.
Mobile vs. Desktop: Who Wins?
When it comes down to it, it’s hard to say which one wins, as each serves its own purpose. However, mobile search almost outpaces desktop search, due to the amount of mobile searches conducted on the run. Usually people will be more likely to pick up their phones before sitting at a computer desktop, solely for convenience.
Transition to Mobile First Indexing
From an SEO standpoint, it is essential to make sure your website is indexed for mobile use. When Google decided to transition into mobile-first indexing, this made mobile websites a starting point for search engine crawlers. This means the mobile version of your website will become the primary version of your website.
Not having a mobile version of your website could potentially hurt your business sales and/or traffic on your website. Due to mobile searches leading the race, this has never been more important.
For more information on the differences between mobile and desktop searching, feel free to contact us. If you’re ready to commit to your business success, we encourage you to reach out for some of our professional SEO coaching.
Sources:
https://www.stonetemple.com/mobile-vs-desktop-usage-study/
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the Tampa SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in Tampa to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
