Articles in The 'Mobile-Devices' Tag

Having a Mobile Website is Not Enough

by Katherine Bennett

There’s a lot of buzz in the media about mobile devices and many businesses have made an effort to create a mobile website. However, just having a single version of your mobile website isn’t enough. A company’s mobile website should be functional and user friendly across multiple mobile devices and their platforms.

Let’s talk about functionality first. It’s safe to say that not all smartphones are created equal. When creating a mobile website, it’s good to keep in mind that your website isn’t being built for one particular mobile device, as iPhones, blackberrys, and android phones will be all accessing your website. In order for your website to appear correctly on various mobile device screens it’s important to make the necessary adjustments in the interworkings of the website. It is also imperative that simulated tests be done with various mobile devices to confirm that it appears the correct way. For example: ask a few employees at your place of business to pull up your website on their phone and give their feedback on how it appears.

Mobile websites should be easy to navigate and allow users to get to the information they want quickly. No one wants to scroll forever to find a link or read an encyclopedia to find a simple answer. On mobile websites, the motto to follow is short and sweet. Another tidbit is to make sure the phone number is readily accessible on all pages. After all, they are on their cell phone.

Mobile devices aren’t going anywhere and their usage is increasing. If your company doesn’t want to get left behind, now’s the time to make the change.   Consider creating a mobile website or improving the functionality and user friendliness of your current one.

Conversions from Unexpected Devices

by Katherine Bennett

When most clients think of paid search conversions, they think of searchers who are using computers and laptops. However, paid search conversions can also come from mobile devices and tablets.  It would behoove businesses to do a device assessment of their campaigns to see the true source of conversions.

Most companies are taught to ask which campaigns and keywords are converting and which ones are converting at the best cost/conversion. Yet many should consider asking which devices are bringing in these conversions. This was not a question that companies needed to ask a few years ago, because mobile devices and tablets weren’t as heavily used as they are now. However, times have changed and the results bare witness.  Let’s say for example that a particular campaign produced 20 conversions in the month of December at a cost/conversion of $5.00. If the keywords and ad copy have good click through rates it may seem as if that particular campaign is well tuned. However, a deeper analysis may show that 15 of those 20 conversions came from mobile devices.  Now what? Break out that one campaign into two separate campaigns. Why? In order to capitalize on the conversions even more.

When a campaign is targeting all media devices, then no one device is truly being tested. However, if you create a version of the campaign that is only targeted to mobile devices and one that is targeted to laptops and computers, it then gives each device an opportunity to show its true potential. One may find that certain campaigns convert better on mobile devices than they do on computers and laptops.

 In the world of paid search, it’s all about testing and making adjustments. Take the time to find out how your campaigns perform on mobile devices. It might be an unexpected surprise to find that mobile devices and tablets are giving your company a better bang for your buck.

Targeting Mobile Devices in Google

by Katherine Bennett

The world of mobile marketing continues to grow. There was a time when only computers and laptops could be targeted with advertising, but that has changed. Now, advertisers have the capability to engage in targeted advertising to reach mobile users on their mobile devices. By making simple adjustments, a company can have their ads show on mobile devices. 

One of the first steps in targeting mobile devices is to create a separate campaign.  Having a separate campaign allows more flexibility with targeting and also allows you to see pure mobile results and how they are performing. Google allows companies to target mobile users by the device they use and by their carrier. A company could get very granular in how they target mobile users. However, we suggest  that you start with a basic mobile

marketing campaign before getting into advanced options.

It’s good to target every available mobile user unless there is a legitimate reason not too.
Keep in mind that the mobile settings in the campaign tab are for phones that support full internet browsers. It’s safe to say that most people who view the internet on their phone are using a smartphone. However, there are cases where your company may only want to target certain types of phones.  For example: If your site uses Flash it would be wise to not target iPhones/iPod Touches and iPads, because they don’t support Flash. It could actually frustrate a user to click on one of your ads and be taken to a website that won’t work on their phone. 

Targeting mobile devices in Google can be a breeze. Some might be hesitant, but why not test mobile marketing?  Mobile marketing is continuing to grow and more people are upgrading to smartphones. There’s no reason not to embark on a mobile marketing test.