With more and more people using mobile websites and applications on a daily basis there’s no other option for a forward-thinking business than to tap into the potential of mobile world to grow across borders.

But before you can set off on the mobile journey around the world, first you’ll need to focus on mobile SEO. It’s an important process that will help to optimise your product and website for mobile search, improve page speed, minify code, decrease the bounce rate and at the same time attract and retain more customers.

Although many mobile SEO strategies are universal and will be efficient regardless of your product or your target market, some steps are especially crucial if you want to localise your website or mobile app.   

Below you can find three items that will require special focus if you want to provide your mobile website or app in another language and adjust it to a new market.

1. Localise titles and meta descriptions on mobile pages

Compared to websites created for desktop devices there’s less space for titles and meta data on mobile pages. This means that descriptions and titles of your mobile pages have to be even more concise. If your mobile website is multilingual, this process will get more complicated, as you’ll have to add the right content in every language version. You can’t simply translate the text from the original version, even if the content is short. What works for one language and users in one country, might not work at all in another language and for a different market.

Make sure the titles and meta descriptions are not only translated, but also appropriately adjusted to your target users and display correctly. Otherwise your long descriptions and titles will be truncated which doesn’t create a good impression and can influence your ranking. So, keep your localised text short without compromising its quality.

2. Prepare for local search

• Use the right keywords 

Do you know how users from across the world can find your mobile website or app? Again, you will have to analyse your target market and find out if your potential users type the same keywords on mobile devices to find your business. The keywords you use to target your home market may have different popularity in a different country. That’s why you’ll need to perform a keyword research to define the right terms for the specific market. For example, you can use tools such as Search Analytics and Mobile Usability available in Google Search Console to determine the right keywords for your audience.

• Embrace the mobile searches 

But that’s not all. Mobile searches differ from desktop searches. For example, mobile users very often perform “near me searches” (e. g. navigating to a local restaurant or hotel), or “how to do” and “where to buy” searches. So, if your business has a local element, make sure it’s findable and available in the language of your potential customers.  

• Add local pictures

Don’t forget about pictures of your local business. If your company has a physical location in your target market, use its pictures on the localised mobile page. Reviews from the local visitors and in the language of your target users are extremely important too.

• Adapt your content to voice searches

Finally, remember about voice search in the local language. As many as 20% of mobile queries are voice searches, so a wise strategy would include catering to the needs of local users who prefer this search method.

To do it, find out if your mobile content answers the questions that your users may have. Are these questions the same as in your home market? Do you know how users in your target market use voice search? Ensure that your mobile content is localised and adapted to their needs to make your mobile page googable.

3. Localise your app store descriptions

If your business also offers a mobile app, remember to adjust it to your new market as well. Make sure your app store descriptions in each and every language are keyword-rich and use the right terms for your target users. Again, as in the case of mobile websites, you’ll need to find out what words your potential users type when they look for apps like yours. As many as 63% of apps are discovered through app store searches, so make sure you know how users in your target markets perform their searches to be able to increase your ranking.

In every language version place the main keyword, i.e. the term with heaviest traffic, in your title and remember that it might be a different word in every region.

Finally, consider using the right style in your app store descriptions. Your content has to meet the requirements of your target users which may differ from country to country. For some markets your description will be more effective if you use a list of benefits and features of your app, in other regions your potential users may prefer funny texts and word puns. So, draft a profile of your target users in every market and adapt your style accordingly.

You might be missing out on a great number of sales if you don’t rank on mobile search. If your business is present in several markets, you might be losing even more opportunities to attract attention of your prospects. That’s why choosing the right tactics and localising your mobile SEO practices can make your business more successful, not just in one region, but across the world.

Is your mobile website and application ready for the global audience?

Dorota Pawlak

Dorota helps digital brands infuse their content with a local touch. She is a localization consultant, translator specialized in IT, prompt engineer, and a book author. Dorota teaches online courses on localization, writes for her blog and a Medium publication. She also runs a Small Biz AI, a Substack newsletter for freelancers and small business owners ready to discover handy AI tools.