Many organizations only use their analytics platform to make investment decisions about the future, especially when it comes to investments in mobile optimization. This is a great start, but it only paints a small part of the picture. If you haven’t already invested in a strong mobile presence, your analytics won’t tell you the whole story
Instead, we recommend making use of tools such as Google Trends and the Google AdWords Keyword Planner to view where the industry (your search audience) has been heading and project out where they will be heading.
For example, take a look at the graph below. This graph shows the average annual search volume for an example industry separated by mobile and desktop devices. This paints a clear picture that the audience growth over the past three years has been dominated by mobile users. However, if you don’t have a mobile optimized presence, your analytics may be reporting a flat line in mobile traffic (giving you an unclear picture your audience’s true behavior beyond your website).
We can then take this a step further, and apply projections to the data we have received to gain an understanding of what the future may look like. In the graph below, with projections applied, we can clearly see that desktop search volume begins to flatten while mobile search volume continues growing.
Keep in mind that these are projections and there will be a margin for error. However, this strategy will provide your organization with a better understanding about where to invest for future growth. Watch the video below to learn more about this subject from Matt Crowley, MoreVisibility’s Director of Optimized Services.