Mobile Version of Your Website - One URL Rule!

As you are visiting websites more frequently with your smartphone or tablet, you've probably noticed that some websites offer a mobile-friendly version of the site content. The content you are viewing has been optimized for viewing on smartphones and tablets. The website will detect the type of device you are using to automatically switch to the mobile version of the website.

Would you like to offer a mobile-friendly version of your website to smartphone users?

Before you develop a mobile version of your site, you do need to be mindful of how your mobile site is developed and where it is hosted.

The "One URL" approach for mobile versions is the preferred choice of Google and Bing/Yahoo to achieve better search engine placement. What does that mean? Google and Bing/Yahoo prefer to find a mobile version of your website on your same web host with the same domain name (or same URL). Your own domain name should host the desktop version and the mobile version of your website.

Using a third party provider with a separate domain name (i.e. their domain name) for your mobile site is NOT recommended by the search engines. This technique could be could viewed as spamming with duplicate content, and may have a negative impact on your website in regard to search engine listings and search results. (Hosting with a third party provider should only be used if your web developer cannot provide a mobile version under your own domain. )

If your website is hosted with The Geeks, we can create a mobile version on your current website with the same domain (even if your site is an older static HTML site). The Geeks have some great options for you so call (231) 347-5100 for more information.

You can also read the complete Google Webmaster Central blog post regarding smartphone-optimized sites here:
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/search/label/mobile