Mobile SERP: What It Is & Why It Is Important

Today, with almost 59% of all global website traffic coming from smartphones and tablets, deciphering mobile SERPs can significantly enhance your organic traffic.

But also your foot traffic - when it comes to local searches.

And your immediate conversions as well.

Taking it back a bit, Google’s new SERP layout of 2021 set different designs and rankings for desktops and mobile SERPs. So, it’s worth analyzing the ‘look and feel’ of mobile search results to boost your rankings and visibility - especially for your most valuable keywords.

Some Mobile Search Stats To Keep In Mind

• +70% of mobile searches are related to nearby businesses, services, and points of interest.
• 76% of smartphone users looking for a product or service ‘near them’ visit a local business within a day (and 28% of them make a purchase).
• 65% of people perform a mobile search in their ‘I want to buy’ or ‘ready to take action’ moments.
• 60% of cellphone users have contacted a business directly via the search results page (e.g., Call Option in local pack listings).
• 80% of smartphone owners expect immediate information when using their devices.
• 45% of cell phone users in the U.S. conduct voice searches on their phones.
• Local searches have a 3x higher chance to come from a voice search than a text query.
• Only 11% of keywords keep the same rankings in both mobile and desktop searches.

Well, percentages like these highlight the importance of making mobile SERP monitoring and analysis a core task of your SEO strategy.

And, as many SEOs declare, “If you're only tracking desktop, you're only getting half the story.”

So, let’s dive into more details, starting with a definition of what a mobile SERP is.

What Is A Mobile SERP?

Mobile SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the page displayed on a mobile device after a Google search. The layout of a mobile SERP is simpler and more condensed than its desktop version. The displayed results also differ due to the user's location, device, and Google mobile SERP features.

How Are Mobile Results Different From Desktop Results?

Mobile SERPs differ from desktop SERPs in many ways and vary further depending on the type of query (e.g., product search, local business search, informational search, etc.)

What you’ll notice at first glance is that mobile SERPs have a more simplified interface with a focus on rich results, while desktop SERPs provide a more extensive layout.

Further differences include:

Location-Based Results

Because the majority of local searches take place on a mobile device, Google tends to favor nearby businesses when you look for a particular service or product on your cellphone.

SERP Structure

Depending on the type of search, rich snippets can have a different structure in mobile than desktop searches.

Take the search query ‘modern literature,’ for instance.

Mobile SERP looks like this:

While Desktop SERP for the same query would be like this:

You’ll notice that the information presented is the same on both devices, but the mobile SERP layout is quite different, favoring images and more click-inviting information.

Number Of Listings Above The Fold

Well, mobile search results pages tend to condense everything (due to lack of space mostly).

So, featured snippets and knowledge graph elements may take up much more space above the mobile screen fold than on desktops.

As a result, your website may rank, let’s say, number 2 on desktop searches so that users can immediately see your brand at eye level.

However, the same query on mobile devices may show regular listings way below the fold, shrinking visibility on mobile searches.

Local Packs

Local packs are Google business results that come right below the Google map in search results. Traditionally, local and mobile searches go hand in hand; thus, local packs have become the norm for mobile searches.

But today, Google business listings also appear on various desktop searches, especially for local searches.

Note that many SEOs report seeing major discrepancies between local packs in desktop and mobile search results. For instance, a certain search may appear with ‘3-pack’ results on desktop and with a 2-pack on mobile. What this means is that if you are, let’s say, number 3 on a big screen local pack, you may not appear at all on cell phone searches.

Conversely, certain local searches only show local packs on mobile devices.

The position of local packs can also change between devices. For some desktop searches, they appear way down, while in mobile SERPs, they’re typically seen high up.

Local Packs Can Significantly Improve Website Traffic

So, Google boosts local results on mobile devices.

As a result, in the last couple of years, many SEOs have started tracking mobile rankings more vigorously than desktop because their clients get much more traffic via mobile SERP’s local packs.

Remember that local pack listings typically drive more direct phone calls and more in-store visits than regular listings.

Page Title Length

Character limits for meta titles and descriptions fluctuate through the years and among devices. At the moment, mobile meta titles can be slightly longer than on desktops (without being cropped, that is).

As for page descriptions, regular snippets tend to have less allocated space on mobiles.

So it may be worth putting in some extra effort to craft different meta tags for different devices.

Tip: Because mobile users tend to scroll quicker, your mobile meta descriptions must be ‘concise and impactful’ - quickly grasping their attention ‘on the go.’

Continuous Scrolling

Continuous scrolling was introduced in late 2021 as part of Google’s mobile SERP redesign for a more seamless and intuitive browsing experience on mobile devices.

Check it out yourself.

See how easy it is to scroll down your mobile screen as new search results are loaded automatically, eliminating the need for pagination.

But how is this important for SEO?

• Users can see many more results with a single swipe.
• Keeps users more engaged.
• Οffers lower-ranking pages more chances to be seen than on desktop - something worth considering for your mobile SERP strategy.

Understanding Google's Mobile SERP Strategy

In recent years, Google has made several changes to the mobile SERP design, aiming to enhance user experience with more relevant results and a more streamlined interface.

Google's 2021 Mobile SERP Redesign

In 2021, Google implemented a significant redesign of its mobile SERP, introducing several visual and functional changes.

Google focused on improving readability and simplifying the overall appearance of mobile search results.

Key changes included:

Larger Text

The search result font size was increased to improve readability on smaller screens.

Bolder Text

Important elements like page titles and URLs were made bold to stand out.

Increased Spacing

The spacing between elements is increased to reduce clutter and improve the visual hierarchy.

More Prominent Favicons

Favicons are now bigger and more prominently placed to help users quickly identify websites in search results.

Rounded Corners

Rounded corners were introduced for various elements, such as images, giving the SERP a more modern look.

Website Names

Website names with their favicon on the side are now placed above the page titles for better visual clarity in search results.

Why Is It Important To Keep Track Of Mobile SERPs?

Tracking mobile SERP features leads to more informed mobile SEO decisions.

Here are four different reasons why:

1. Quickly Detect Mobile SERP Changes

Google is constantly changing how mobile SERPs look for certain types of queries, which can impact your website's ranking. So, track your mobile SERP rankings regularly to see how these changes are affecting your website.

2. Understand Why Your Keyword Rankings Are Changing

Mobile SERP features, such as image snippets, local packs, and knowledge panels, can seriously impact the visibility of organic search results on small screens.

3. Leverage Your Local SEO

Mobile SERPs are a core SEO factor for local businesses. Because mobile users are more likely to be looking for nearby brick-and-mortar stores (and all kinds of physical businesses, in fact), it’s worth putting some extra effort into enhancing your local SEO for mobile.

4. See The SERP Your Customers See

By tracking mobile SERPs, you can actually see what your target audience sees. This information helps you shape your content and SEO strategies accordingly and outrank your ‘mobile competitors.’

Conquer The Mobile SERP

Monetizing your mobile SERP appearance means keeping up with Google updates, competitor initiatives, and your own content (and all other elements of your SEO checklist).

Sounds daunting?

Why not leave it up to the pros?

Our team at Atropos Digital SEO Agency can help you leverage your website for mobile user conversions, increasing your SEO ROI and boosting your sales. To find out more, book a strategy call.