| Mobile internet and mobile search is gaining ground. | | | | to the wealth of options on the html web, result |
| While surfing is inconvenient, many people are | | | | relevancy is generally low. |
| accessing their emails from their mobile phones. | | | | How is presence to be gained within mobile search |
| Google has just announced it had released a special | | | | results? |
| java gmail client for mobiles, following Yahoo!, which | | | | SEOing for mobile |
| already has been offering service for some time. | | | | Very scarce research and knowledge exists in the |
| All major search engines offer a version customized | | | | SEO community regarding mobile search algorithms. |
| for mobile devices, and are quite active in expanding | | | | There is reason to believe that the basic algorithms, still |
| market reach within mobile networks and device | | | | in the making, resemble those for web search. |
| manufacturers. At the beginning of 2006, Yahoo! | | | | However, all the basic elements that exist in html and |
| signed a distribution deal with several key | | | | matter for search engines, such as relevant inbound |
| manufacturers for a suite of Yahoo! services that | | | | links and formatted content, also exist in wml and the |
| includes email, search and photos. Google signed a | | | | logic behind the way robots analyze link popularity and |
| deal with Motorola to ship a pre-installed Google icon | | | | texts prevails here as well. Nonetheless, designing your |
| on some of its devices, allowing instant access to the | | | | website in a W3C-compatible manner as far as xhtml |
| Google search page. | | | | and css coding, will increase visibility of websites within |
| In the meantime, mobile search startups are actively | | | | mobile search results along with desktop search. |
| striving to create an effective network of advertisers | | | | Website mobile version |
| while developing mobile search tools and indices for | | | | In the future, most website publishers will likely produce |
| integration into cellular devices and networks. | | | | mobile versions of their websites for WAP mobile |
| The mobile search experience | | | | browsers. An abundance of html to wml converter |
| Search through mobiles fosters dilemmas: | | | | tools exist on the market, but as long as standard |
| 1. What types of results will be returned for a given | | | | xhtml coding was not applied initially, it is unlikely those |
| user query? Should it be wml websites, html websites | | | | tools could work in the general case. The operative |
| that are more relevant but not fully compatible, or | | | | recommendation for website owners and marketers |
| should it be some sort of "answer" that the search | | | | planning a new website or redesigning the information |
| engine has compiled for the query rather than a list of | | | | architecture of an existing website is to comply with |
| links? | | | | xhtml, or better yet, have all the content stored in xml |
| 2. How should the user location be taken into account? | | | | and the display adjusted with xslt. This way a website |
| Should the search engine assume mobile search is | | | | can easily be created and maintained in an updated, |
| local by essence and serve local data? | | | | valuable wml version. |
| 3. How can search engines capitalize on the search | | | | Mobile search advertising |
| results? Even displaying more than three results | | | | Google, Yahoo! and MSN are experimenting with |
| requires scrolling and frequently another access | | | | mobile search advertising and the major problems |
| iteration, so how could the severely limited screen | | | | inherent with highly limited screen space. MSN currently |
| space be conducive for advertising? | | | | offers a pay-per-call advertising model, which seems |
| The answers to these questions are not clear, and | | | | only natural for mobiles. No integration is offered yet |
| currently there are more experiments and trials than | | | | with any of the respective paid search advertising |
| facts and conclusions. Some analysts have argued | | | | programs. Some startups are offering mobile |
| that search results should be answers rather than a | | | | advertising platforms on their proprietary search |
| set of links. This might be true in some cases, not | | | | engines to be distributed on partnering devices and |
| appropriate in others and not feasible for many | | | | networks. While many potential interactive online |
| queries. Searching the normal or through wireless | | | | advertisements are natural and useful for cellulars and |
| devices returns the same set of results as a desktop | | | | may result in action such as ordering flowers and |
| search with the snippet modified and number of results | | | | parking payments, the market is generally not yet |
| shown ranging from 1 to 4 depending on device | | | | mature enough to call mobile search a real venue for |
| screen size, listing length and other factors. | | | | internet marketers. |
| This means that the websites found have been | | | | However, search engine engineers and designers are |
| designed for desktop and will not be suitable for | | | | now hard at work tackling the issues at hand to |
| wireless application (WAP) browsers. Searching | | | | create useful concepts, models and methodologies for |
| through Google or Yahoo mobile search engines, for | | | | serving relevant mobile search results while marketers |
| example google.com/wml, will allow selection between | | | | are working out feasible mobile search advertising |
| internet results and mobile network results. Selecting | | | | models. It is unlikely to happen immediately, but within a |
| the mobile network results will only return listings of | | | | few years it will be a dynamic market in its own right. |
| wml documents. However, since the selection of | | | | So internet marketer, get prepared. |
| content written in wml is drastically inferior compared | | | | |