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Google has launched a ‘Shops” section in the mobile search results, currently only for users in the US. This section now shows retailers that can help with a search query. Logically, the results depend on the organic search rankings.
A spokesperson from Google told Search Engine Land that they launched this feature to help present more seller options on Search. “This feature currently shows 3 shops and users can then expand to see up to 10 merchants depending on availability.” – they said.
Along with the free product listings and the deals section on search results, this is a part of Google’s intention of helping increase the visibility of retailers’ brands and drive their traffic. On the other hand, since the only way to get to these positions is to already have a good ranking, it might be harder for new retailers to reach these sections.
This makes the content guidelines even more important for merchants, as well as the optimization for both mobile and desktop views.
How To Optimize For Mobile Search
It’s no secret that mobile search is getting more popular by day – half of the web traffic comes via mobile searches. You can test if your page is mobile-friendly by using a variety of tools, including this one by Google.
According to Google itself, here are a few things to think about when it comes to optimizing your website for mobile use:
Make sure your site loads quickly
Visitors leave if the page isn’t loaded in 3 seconds. This can be avoided by using a slightly different URL for a mobile version, optimizing your images, reducing redirects and browsing caching, and not blocking JavaScript, HTML and CSS code.
Make the site responsive and easy to navigate
You want to prevent your visitors become frustrated and leaving your page. That can be achieved by enabling them to easily find what they’re looking for. This is where design comes into play. Also, you want the site to be responsive and make it adapt to the screen size by detecting the resolution and adjusting using clever CSS.
Let Users Take Action Easily
Make it easier for users to contact you, search for a product or make a purchase. There are a lot of techniques to do this. For example, try adding colours and icons, distinguishing buttons from text, and more.
For more tips on optimizing your page for mobile search, check out this resource.
