Why is Multi-Platform SEO Important?
Google’s Hummingbird Update and the “New Multi-Screen World”
Google’s Multi-screen world study and infographic were published nearly a year and half ago, but I think it’s worth revisiting in the light of the Hummingbird update.
This study lays out some really important building blocks to the Hummingbird update that advertisers and search marketers will come to understand in greater depth as more is discovered about these algorithm changes.
A key point mentioned in the blog that Google released with the infographic, is:
They go on to say that the “critical connector” between those interactions is search. Essentially as users move from one device to another, search engine results provide the bridges that connect their interactions.
A large component of the Hummingbird update, as has been frequently expounded upon, is the greater targeting power applied to query-based searches. Essentially, we no longer have to ‘translate’ questions into search terms, we can just ask Google in complete phrases. Grant Simmons, in his article on Searchenginewatch.com, further expands upon this notion by providing examples of how Hummingbird uses the knowledge graph to recognize queries and then apply cultural and temporal context to them.
What does this all mean?
It is becoming increasingly more relevant to explore the search psychology of your target audience. I think it is necessary to consider a sequential strategy of keyword terms.
What questions lead your target consumers in your general direction?
What answers can you provide that ‘hook’ your audience so that the next search they perform on their next device brings them back around to your site or product?
Who, what, when, where, why, and how is your information more relevant than that of your competitors?
Google’s research points out that spur-of-the-moment searches comprise 80% of searches on smartphones, and that smartphones are the starting point for sequential searches by a significant percentage. In their Mobile Search Moments Study, Google points out that a mobile search leads to nearly 2 follow-up actions, on average. In the same study, they mention that 55% of purchase-related conversions occur within one hour of initial mobile search. That means it pays, in spades, to rank for related search terms on both mobile and desktop SERPs, especially considering the point that rankings differ between smartphone and desktop browsers by as much as 86%.
It is crucial for search marketing strategy to determine the follow-up questions that direct those follow up actions that lead your potential consumers back around towards your product, information, or service and not towards a leading competitor.
Ultimately, the best way to win over your prospective customers or clients, as well as the search engines on any device, is to provide a high quality website that provides current, self-relevant, and even crucial information that is cleanly linked to pages that are referenced or offer explanatory value to the article, page, or blog. The inclusion of subject-related evolving questions across multiple site pages, that incorporate long tail keywords, and encapsulate the point of the article – to which it can be argued that your article / content that follows is THE best answer – can only enhance your multi-platform SEO strategy that is crucial to maintaining visitors throughout their conversion path.
