Computer vs. Mobile Search for Financial Advisors

Written by Brent Carnduff For the Accidental SEOEarlier this year, Matt Cutts, head of Google’s web spam team, and defacto public face of search, said that he “wouldn’t be surprised” to see mobile search queries surpassing desktop search in 2014. He of course was referring to overall search patterns rather than specific industries – but it made me curious as to what the mobile search patterns for the Financial Planning industry are?Following is the search breakdown (Computers, Mobile Device, Tablets) for 5 broad Financial keywords.Financial Planning: Computer Search Investment Management Retirement Planning Tax Planning Estate Planning Desktop search makes up between 60-75% of searches for these broad financial services keywords.SummaryAlthough I wouldn’t be surprised to see Financial related mobile search lagging general mobile search trends, there is little doubt that the mobile search will continue to play an increasingly influential role in search marketing for financial advisors.In order to meet this opportunity, advisors need to be sure that their websites have been optimized for mobile search. This means that you need to have created a separate mobile site, or that your website is responsive (adjusts for optimal viewing for all screen sizes – computer, tablet, or smartphone). Responsive design is still relatively new. Any site built prior to two years ago is probably not responsive.