Digital Marketers Get An Instant Snapshot Of How Their Sites’ Mobile And Desktop Search Performance Differs

Search and content optimisation leader, Searchmetrics, has introduced a new set of KPIs in its software that give digital marketers an at-a-glance indication of how visible their web pages are in Google’s mobile search results compared with search results displayed on desktop or laptop computers.

The new Desktop vs. Mobile Visibility metrics¹, available within the company’s Searchmetrics Suite software, provide individual scores for desktop visibility and mobile visibility, together with a percentage overlap metric which indicates the percentage of keyword search results for which a site appears in exactly the same position in both. Separate metrics are provided for comparing desktop with mobile search performance in both organic and paid search results.

Marcus Tober, Searchmetrics’ CTO and founder said: “When we analysed search results for millions of keywords on Google.com last year, we found that around 36% of the results pages displayed on mobile devices are different from those shown on desktops and laptops. And the difference is very likely to increase on April 21, since Google announced a special Mobile Update to its algorithm that will have a considerable impact on mobile search results in favor of ’mobile friendly‘ websites. It is essential for digital marketers to analyse and optimise their mobile search performance now, before the algorithm changes.”

“Our new Desktop vs Mobile Visibility metrics provide a quick snapshot of how a site is performing in mobile search compared with desktop search – and helps brands quickly understand and measure the impact of search engine changes such as Google updates. After using the Desktop vs. Mobile Visibility snapshot as a starting point users can conduct a deeper analysis of how their sites rank in mobile searches and work to optimise their performance.”

Within the Searchmetrics Suite it is possible to drill down in greater detail to view how a website performs in mobile search results for specific keywords, including localized results in 468 city-search engine combinations around the world.

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¹How desktop and mobile search visibility is measured
Searchmetrics tracks the paid and organic ranking of millions of keywords every week. It calculates the desktop and mobile scores among others based on:
• The number of times a domain appears in the search engine results pages (SERPs) across the keyword set within desktop and mobile searches.
• Its prominence within those SERPs (a higher ranking equates to a higher visibility score)
• The competitiveness of the keyword (higher search volumes equate to a higher visibility score)
While the visibility scores can relate to a website’s real traffic, it is important to remember that traffic can come from many different places online. Therefore the visibility scores are only indicators of visibility that comes from a website’s organic and paid search channels.

About Searchmetrics
Searchmetrics is the pioneer and leading global enterprise platform for search experience optimization. Search Experience Optimization combines SEO, content, social media, PR and analysis to create the foundation for developing and executing an organic search strategy. It places the spotlight on the customer, contributing to a superior and memorable purchase experience.

Enterprises and agencies use the Searchmetrics Suite to plan, execute, measure and report on their digital marketing strategies. Supported by a continually updated global database, Searchmetrics answers the key questions asked by SEO professionals and digital marketers. It delivers a wealth of forecasts, analytic insights and recommendations that boost visibility and engagement, and increase online revenue. Many respected brands, such as T-Mobile, eBay, Siemens and Symantec, rely on the Searchmetrics Suite.

Searchmetrics has offices in Berlin, San Mateo, New York, London, and Paris, and is backed by Holzbrinck Digital, Neuhaus Partners and Iris Capital.