There is little doubt that mobile optimization is high on every marketer’s radar at the moment, giving the pending arrival of the new Google mobile index and the consumer shift to mobile search. For hotel websites, the move to mobile is particularly significant as more and more travellers say they are using their mobile device to research, plan and book their trips.

Making your hotel website more mobile friendly requires a continuous process of mobile optimization. Try these tips and actions to improve your mobile SEO now and win over more mobile search users.



1. Reduce page load time

Because of slower internet connections, less powerful devices and smaller screens, page load time is a make or break factor for mobile users. Making your page as lean as possible – and therefore as quick loading as possible – is the very first and most important mobile SEO step you can take. 

You’ll need to do this on a page-by-page basis across your site. Google research shows that bounce rate increases dramatically the longer a page takes to load so, your aim is to reduce all latency and present the page as quickly as you possibly can. This is not only important from a mobile optimization perspective – it also has a direct impact on your hotel’s revenue. 
•  Compress images to make them smaller and quicker to load
•  Use AMP to make HTML leaner and faster
•  Enable page caching
•  Check your hosting
•  Run a page load speed test using Google’s tool to identify areas where you can optimize page load speed

2. Use a responsive design

A mobile site doesn’t need the same amount of text, number of pages, number of images or the same navigation as the main version of your website. If you have a long navigation menu for example, it will run off the screen of a smaller mobile device, meaning the user will need to scroll. 

Making use of a responsive design will ensure your page displays properly on a mobile device and loads quickly. 

•  Use a single browser window
•  Don’t use Flash
•  Condense menus and make site navigation easier
•  Condense images and videos
•  Condense text
•  Keep form fields minimal
•  Have clear calls to action and large clickable buttons
•  Don’t use obtrusive pop-ups as they can be hard to exit on smaller screen

3. Use AMP

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a truncated version of traditional HTML. It is an open source project, originally developed by Google, so that content would load quicker on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. 

AMP content is displayed prominently within Google search results (above the organic listings) so it will also give your hotel content more prominent visibility for mobile search users.

4. Optimize for local search too

Mobile optimization is closely tied to local SEO because, users naturally gravitate to their mobile devices when looking for local products and services. Optimizing for local search too can improve your mobile search traffic figures, by making it easier for those using a mobile device, to find your hotel from their smartphone.