Research Highlights Mobile Search Failings

Research conducted by Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and mobile search company Brand Attention  has revealed a severe lack of mobile SEO among FTSE 100 companies.
When inputting a company name into Google Mobile Web UK, the research reveals that 93% of FTSE 100 companies’ homepages do not appear in the first page of search results. 90% of FTSE 100 companies have homepages listed as the first search result when searching by company name online, compared with only 5% on Google Mobile Web.
“With 94% of online users failing to search beyond the first page of results (Forrester Research), this highlights a major visibility problem for the UK’s leading companies” says Brand Attention MD, Howard Furr-Barton.
The gap is further exemplified when searching for FTSE 100 companies with key search terms tied to their company description online. On Google.co.uk, 2% of FTSE 100 companies have homepages listed as the first search result, while 13.5% have homepages listed in the first page of results. Compare this to Google Mobile Web UK, and the figures drop dramatically to 0.5% and 1.5% respectively.
“These huge differences in SEO between online and mobile search engines are due to a lack of compatibility of websites for the mobile Internet” says Furr-Barton. “Multi-format browsing, which is now a requirement under new W3C compliance, is still not being adopted by the vast majority of FTSE 100 companies.” 
The research highlights the fact that results on Google Mobile Web UK are predominantly news-led, as a result of major media brands being quick off the mark to adopt mobile Internet standards. Only 3.5% of FTSE 100 companies have any sort of branded content appearing in the first 100 mobile search results when searching under key search terms. 
When comparing the volume of branded and non-branded search results on FTSE 100 company names, Google Mobile Web UK delivers only 4% of that found on Google.co.uk; an average of 70,000, in comparison to the 1.6 million total results returned online. 
“The sheer difference in total volume of search results between online and mobile also presents a strong opportunity for brands” says Furr-Barton. “With few web pages achieving compatibility, optimising company branded pages for mobile can ensure they appear even more prominently than they perhaps would online, ensuring strong brand positioning in a medium that is set to explode in the coming months.” 
The research was conducted by Brand Attention from 22 February to 13 March 2007. Keyword search results are based on the average results from two keywords closely tied to the company's online description, products and services.

Comments

[Mobile SEO]

It is amazing that Mobile SEO or the Mobile web has not taken like the numerous predictions in the past 2 years. I have noticed that a number of companies ie t-mobile and 3 have started advertising for web'n walk and 3 has started a push for Skype. Although many people have logged onto the internet once using a mobile device there is very little repeated use of it. When mobile users realise that the likes of skype provide free phone calls with video and other personised features users may make use of mobile web similar to how people have used youtube and myspace.

It is obvious that many 'big brand' companies have not began any type of mobile marketing as yet and it will effect them in the long run. In the past there was web 1.0 and now web 2.0, which opened yet another door for upcoming companies to make it online, possibily the mobile web will be another online market building excersie which will see more big corporates lose out to smarter web and mobile web companies.