So what is different about the way mobile search engines work? Not much at this point. When it comes to mobile SEO we don't need to worry so much about the search engines. In this case, this is really more about the users.

In an effort to reach out to the mobile audience we have to think like mobile audience. Mobile web is primarily used for some quick or location-specific information. The users are likely to be on the go or resting in their chair in front of a TV. What are they looking for?

• A phone number for a local restaurant
• News headlines
• Delayed flight information
• Local movie theater schedule
• A plumber who works on weekends

Mobile e-commerce is gaining popularity, but it's not widely popular yet. Mobile shoppers go to their phone to purchase simple and familiar items, such as flowers or books. But when it comes to more custom products, such as artwork or clothing, they are still likely to sit down in front of their PC or Mac and get a good view of the item they are about to pay for.

Most of traditional SEO practices (such as the use of keywords inside meta title and description, h1, h2, body text, etc.) will apply to the mobile SEO. But there's a difference - I've been searching for just the right cliché to use - less is more. Even Google Mobile result pages are restricted to a list of five sites, instead of traditional ten. Mobile users don't seem to do any deep browsing. The often stop after 2-3 clicks. Keep that in mind when structuring your mobile websites - don't hide the information deep into a site.

Some SEO tweaks for the mobile content include:

1. Less content
2. Fewer images
3. Fewer pages
4. Shorter pages
5. Fewer Keywords

Validate your mobile code with W3C markup validator or W3C MobileOK checker to make sure it is 100% error free - otherwise mobile search engines might have issues indexing the content.

Test your mobile site using your mobile device or online application like IPhone 3G Tester

Submit your mobile site to the search engines. Here are the instructions on how it's done with Google and Yahoo.

Yahoo

Login using your Yahoo! Account into the Yahoo! Site Explorer. Add your mobile site URL to the Site Explorer.

Google

All you need to do is submit mobile sitemap in Google Webmaster Tools. For a sample mobile sitemap, see Google's own http://www.google.com/mobilesitemap.xml. Once the mobile sitemap is created, you can submit it the same way as the regular one. A Gmail account is required.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.