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