While mobile search has come a long way in a short time, there are still some hurdles that need to be addressed before it becomes the mainstream default standard. Here are 4 that jump out at me immediately:

• Handset Variations: A variety of phones render your page with varying speed and performance when accessed through a mobile browser.  Screen size, processing power, orientation and network speed will impact performance drastically.

• Browser Variations: The variety of mobile browsers itself is a challenge, as they render web sites differently.  The top browsers include Safari, Internet Explorer Mobile, Opera Mobile and Android amongst others.

•  Interactive Media Streaming: Most mobile browsers today do not support Flash or Silverlight, requiring separate applications or methods for accessing streaming media.

1. Silverlight for Mobile Site: Silverlight mobile is in development but currently not available.  For now, it is best to ensure your core web properties are not heavily Silverlight dependant. 
2. Flash Lite 3: Flash Lite 3 is Adobe’s mobile and internet connected TV solution which has recently been announced, but adoption and availability is low with few working demos on Windows Mobile 6.5 and Opera Mobile 9.5.  Adoption is sure to increase but for now, it is safer to make your web pages not heavily Flash dependent.
3. Flash on iPhone or iPod Touch: Currently Flash content is only available via the YouTube specific app.  An iPhone specific Flash implementation made for Safari is in the works, but for now it is best to not be Flash dependent.

• Apps: Although web dependant software for mobile phones has been around for years, Apps as we know them today have recently taken off courtesy of the Apple App Store.  Apps are increasingly appearing as a way to “browse” specific websites – bypassing the limitations and challenges with the browser.  More to come on Apps soon.

MSN Mobile Browser

With so many mobile devices in play, can you afford to lose out on traffic to your site because it’s not optimized for mobile search and browsing? Here are 6 website development tactics that you should consider for an optimal mobile user experience:

1.  There are three main site strategies/architectures to consider:

1. Develop a mobile only version of your page (have browser auto-detect to redirect mobile browsers to mobile version of the page).  Examples: http://mobile.espn.com, http://mobile.msn.com.
2. Make your standard site both a traditional and a mobile browser/device safe – requires lots of planning.
3. Cross your fingers and hope that whatever you created is mobile safe.

Note: .mobi solutions are not recommended.

 2.  Follow and turn up the heat on all standard SEO tactics and methodologies:

1. Use external Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to increase rendering speed and consistency.
2. Use XHTML – stiffer accessibility standards will make sure that visitors will view your site correctly regardless of which browser or device they have.

3.  Eliminate dynamic web content such as scripts, frames, flash, pop ups, mouse-overs, etc…

4.  Add the most appropriate keywords.  Mobile sites are restricted in the amount of data they can show, not just by screen size and format, but by the largely diminished attention spans of the users. As such the data has to be to the point and entirely keyword loaded.

5.  Use MetaTXT which is a way of exposing and making discoverable content (for example multimedia) within a site. It provides multiple mobile web entry points for browsers. In short, MetaTXT helps the search engine return the most relevant site for the consumer device.

6.  Test your web page on a variety of devices and browsers BUT be clear that the Apple iPhone is by far today’s mobile browsing smartphone standard.  At minimum ensure that the browsing experience is positive on the iPhone’s Safari browser.

Devices:

• iPhone
• Windows Mobile Phones (Smart phones and Pocket PC’s)
• HTC Dream/T Mobile G1
• Blackberry Storm and standard BB’s
• Palm non-Windows Mobile phones

Mobile Phone Browsers:

• Apple Safari
• Windows Mobile Internet Explorer
• Google Chrome
• Opera Mobile
• Opera Mini
• Skyfire
• Bitstream Thunderhawk & Bolt

Development sites:

• iPhone Simulator
• iPhone SDK
• Skweezer
• Android SDK
• Windows Mobile SDK