We're still in the Stone Age when it comes to wearable knowledge. For all the pleasure over Google Glass
and the smartwatches rolling out from Samsung, Sony, and, inevitably,
Apple, we're still far off from any of these belongings being the status
quo of personal computing.
It is expected that we'll be adopting these more personal and streamlined means of accessing the Internet en masse over the next couple of years.
Smartwatches and Content Strategy
So if we accept that our near prospect is more "Dick Tracy" than "Videodrome", what do we do to ensure that we are creating the right kind of user experiences? Because if the average desktop website wasn't working well on smartphones, it's going to have even bigger challenges on smartwatch screens.
Faster acceptance of Server-Side Responsive Design
Responsive design has fixed on quickly as marketers begin to realize that multiple screens call for a more fluid and bendable approach to content delivery. However, responsive design in its strictest sense would involve sending a extra amount of data to a smartwatch which is why it is likely that we'll see a faster adoption of responsive design with server-side components (RESS).
Rising Adoption of Location and Proximity-Triggered connections
Early predictions from analysts posit smartwatches as "remote control" devices that will simply deliver filtered content from smartphones and tablets. No doubt this will be a big part of the value proposal but they are also likely to have extra, standalone uses.
Greater Acceptance of Brand/Consumer Messaging and Alerts
In fact, smart watches are very likely to altogether increase our dependence on alerts and bite-sized brand/consumer messages.
The smaller screens of these devices will make a desire for extremely succinct and efficient content because if our broadmindedness for extraneous and irrelevant content was limited on a Smartphone, it's going to be even more limited on these devices.
Growing reception of Opt-in Search Models
The limited screen size of smart phones is also apt to increase consumer acceptance of behaviorally and contextually-customized models of search such as Google Now.
The smaller our screens become, the less attempt we'll be expect to expend in searching for and gathering data – all the better if we can get our search criteria pre-filtered and proactively delivered.
Heavier reliance on voice search
If you thought fat finger syndrome was a problem on smart phones, just wait until your screen shrinks to 128x128 pixels.
Accelerated uptake of app content
Another effect of diminished screen size may be enlarged consumer appetite for content in native app form. The simplified, icon-oriented user interfaces of apps present greater ease of use than the more info-dense arrangement of mobile websites and hence, are likely to increase in appeal.
Smart watches and SEO
So we've recognized that smart watch content will probably look much special from that consumed on smart phones and tablets – more stripped down, preference-based and action-oriented with a greater reliance on alerts, apps, and voice input. But how this content gets found is likely to look quite different as well.
Based on our assumptions of what the content will look like, we can maybe make some fairly accurate predictions as to how the SEO best practices for smart watches will unfold.
Site Factors
Location-specific keywords are bound to increase in significance with smart watches; the fact that smaller screens call for more exactly targeted content practically ensures it since location is one of the foremost factors that influence real-time consumer behavior.
Special Factors
In fact, we may find that it's the consumer's position that's really the determining factor, not the brands. This is something we've previously started to see taking shape with products like Google Now.
Rather than the consumer receiving search results that are customized to reflect a brand's local presence, we're more likely to see permission-based, Google Now type models come out in which consumers specify what types of content they'll be looking for or be open to receiving in certain locations and under certain conditions.
Voice Factors
Clearly voice search is going to come into its own finally and smart watches will no doubt speed the process. As discussed in my last post on SEO for apps, we're likely to see development in optimization for natural language queries vs. keywords but in the near term, there will be an enlarged focus on well-optimized mobile web pages with an emphasis on local content as well as optimization for longer queries and more slang and colloquial terms.
Optimization for Apps, Feeds, Locations, and Alerts
The main change of all may be that search from smart watches is likely to be less listening carefully on website results in favor of more actionable, bite-sized pieces of content. Physical locations will clearly be a popular query but consumers will also be more apt to search for feeds, opt-in alerts, and apps.The lesson? You SEO strategy will need to expand far beyond the web page of even the mobile web page since your users are probably going to be searching for a different set of content in total.
Summary
It may seem like an generalization to say that the changes brought about by smart watches will be all about the screen size but it's all about the screen size. Less room for user input, steering and consumption will turn up the pressure on us all to simplify, then simplify again and that's not essentially a bad thing.
It is expected that we'll be adopting these more personal and streamlined means of accessing the Internet en masse over the next couple of years.
Smartwatches and Content Strategy
So if we accept that our near prospect is more "Dick Tracy" than "Videodrome", what do we do to ensure that we are creating the right kind of user experiences? Because if the average desktop website wasn't working well on smartphones, it's going to have even bigger challenges on smartwatch screens.
Faster acceptance of Server-Side Responsive Design
Responsive design has fixed on quickly as marketers begin to realize that multiple screens call for a more fluid and bendable approach to content delivery. However, responsive design in its strictest sense would involve sending a extra amount of data to a smartwatch which is why it is likely that we'll see a faster adoption of responsive design with server-side components (RESS).
Rising Adoption of Location and Proximity-Triggered connections
Early predictions from analysts posit smartwatches as "remote control" devices that will simply deliver filtered content from smartphones and tablets. No doubt this will be a big part of the value proposal but they are also likely to have extra, standalone uses.
Greater Acceptance of Brand/Consumer Messaging and Alerts
In fact, smart watches are very likely to altogether increase our dependence on alerts and bite-sized brand/consumer messages.
The smaller screens of these devices will make a desire for extremely succinct and efficient content because if our broadmindedness for extraneous and irrelevant content was limited on a Smartphone, it's going to be even more limited on these devices.
Growing reception of Opt-in Search Models
The limited screen size of smart phones is also apt to increase consumer acceptance of behaviorally and contextually-customized models of search such as Google Now.
The smaller our screens become, the less attempt we'll be expect to expend in searching for and gathering data – all the better if we can get our search criteria pre-filtered and proactively delivered.
Heavier reliance on voice search
If you thought fat finger syndrome was a problem on smart phones, just wait until your screen shrinks to 128x128 pixels.
Accelerated uptake of app content
Another effect of diminished screen size may be enlarged consumer appetite for content in native app form. The simplified, icon-oriented user interfaces of apps present greater ease of use than the more info-dense arrangement of mobile websites and hence, are likely to increase in appeal.
Smart watches and SEO
So we've recognized that smart watch content will probably look much special from that consumed on smart phones and tablets – more stripped down, preference-based and action-oriented with a greater reliance on alerts, apps, and voice input. But how this content gets found is likely to look quite different as well.
Based on our assumptions of what the content will look like, we can maybe make some fairly accurate predictions as to how the SEO best practices for smart watches will unfold.
Site Factors
Location-specific keywords are bound to increase in significance with smart watches; the fact that smaller screens call for more exactly targeted content practically ensures it since location is one of the foremost factors that influence real-time consumer behavior.
Special Factors
In fact, we may find that it's the consumer's position that's really the determining factor, not the brands. This is something we've previously started to see taking shape with products like Google Now.
Rather than the consumer receiving search results that are customized to reflect a brand's local presence, we're more likely to see permission-based, Google Now type models come out in which consumers specify what types of content they'll be looking for or be open to receiving in certain locations and under certain conditions.
Voice Factors
Clearly voice search is going to come into its own finally and smart watches will no doubt speed the process. As discussed in my last post on SEO for apps, we're likely to see development in optimization for natural language queries vs. keywords but in the near term, there will be an enlarged focus on well-optimized mobile web pages with an emphasis on local content as well as optimization for longer queries and more slang and colloquial terms.
Optimization for Apps, Feeds, Locations, and Alerts
The main change of all may be that search from smart watches is likely to be less listening carefully on website results in favor of more actionable, bite-sized pieces of content. Physical locations will clearly be a popular query but consumers will also be more apt to search for feeds, opt-in alerts, and apps.The lesson? You SEO strategy will need to expand far beyond the web page of even the mobile web page since your users are probably going to be searching for a different set of content in total.
Summary
It may seem like an generalization to say that the changes brought about by smart watches will be all about the screen size but it's all about the screen size. Less room for user input, steering and consumption will turn up the pressure on us all to simplify, then simplify again and that's not essentially a bad thing.
