The wealth of smart devices at our disposal has never been greater. Smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, smart speakers, and other smart wearables are now ubiquitous, all around the world. This has had a huge impact on the way that we search for information on the internet.
Today, it’s more important how we search than what we search for in some cases. What we search for on a smart speaker is totally different from what we search on a smartphone or a tablet. Hence, SEO has evolved to take in to account not just what we’re searching for, but what we’re searching with. This evolution will continue to incorporate more modes of search including voice search, and IoT. In other words, device based SEO is going to be incredibly important in the future.
Mobile SEO: The Beginning
Today nearly every SEO guide out there tells you to optimize your web page or website for mobile SEO. That’s no coincidence, since most web browsing and search is carried out through mobile devices. However, it goes beyond just marketing for a mobile device to fit its screen size and functionality.
In 2015, Google announced that search carried out through mobile devices will display relevant Android apps which you can install. That is a distinctly mobile-device targeted move. No standard laptops or desktops would need such recommendations. However, on a mobile device, an app may be the answer to the query that a single user needs.
Smartwatches and Smart Speakers: The Future
Smartwatches and smart speakers are relatively new devices compared to smartphones. Since their use cases and target consumers are different from smartphones, their SEO will obviously differ from smartphone SEO.
Smartwatches for example have become almost entirely focused on health and mobility. They contain applications and hardware for tracking your heart rate, elevation, speed, movement, and even blood oxygen levels. In Apple’s smartwatch, there are sensors to take an ECG.
For a device that’s focused completely on the fitness and health of an individual, it already is its own niche. While smartphones are generally looked at as all-purpose tools; and really replacements for computers; smartwatches are niche devices.
SEO for them can focus on health-based apps, fitness services, the nearest hospitals and wellness centers, etc. However, there are other applications than just health and fitness. Smartwatch SEO can also focus on location based triggers that can offer coupons or special discounts for business near you.
Smart Speakers serve a completely different purpose. They’re not designed to be mobile, but to serve as a hub for smart devices in the home. Smart speakers can control smart lights and ambience, and of course, music. Amazon’s Echo speakers, for example, are designed to take advantage of their retail ecosystem and order literally anything. So SEO for smart speakers will be more retail focused and home control focused.
Also, smart speakers will generally get queries that are longer and more verbose than other devices. Since the primary mode of communication is voice, queries will be more direct and more specific. Hence, SEO will have to evolve to cater to these longtail keyword queries and specific questions.
