There are still many, many advertisers who have not crafted a mobile strategy for their business or created a mobile-friendly website. What are you waiting for? With the increasing adoption rate and usage of smart phones, in conjunction with other devices, it becomes pretty clear how customers will interact with your business in the not-to-distant future. In addition to multi-channel marketing, marketers must now consider multi-device marketing. Don’t take my word for it, the image below demonstrates the usage patterns throughout the day for Desktop, Tablet and Mobile. In my opinion, it illustrates the impact that Mobile will have on your business.
Notice the sharp peak in usage on tablets in the evening – very likely while people are also consuming other media, like music or TV. Tablets need to considered, but don’t have the same challenges that the small-screens of smart phones possess (for both design and marketing messages). Many websites will render fine on a tablet, without any adjustments or modifications made. The exception would be if your website has any flash elements, which would then not render at all on the iPad. This is something to account for and possibly develop a modified version of the site, sans flash, just for your iPad users.
Before you venture into development of multiple versions of your site, for specific devices or operating systems, analyze your audience. It isn’t necessary to guess if people visit your site from a Mobile device, or which types of devices they are using. This data is readily available and accessible to advertisers who have website analytics properly installed. As a Google Analytics Certified Partner, MoreVisibility leverages this information for clients all the time to determine the proper mobile strategy for each business. The image below shows where you can find these details within the Google Analytics interface (new version):
In most of the Analytics accounts we have access to, mobile traffic is present and is increasing steadily. We have seen anywhere from 2% on the low-end to over 15% on the higher side of referred visitors coming from mobile devices, based on overall site traffic. Given the usage statistics and trends, I’d say those will be much higher over the next year. Don’t be caught behind when it comes to understanding how mobile fits into your overall business strategy. Having a site optimized for the small screen is just a piece of it; understanding how to reach an audience “on-the-go” is important too. What types of content are they looking for? How do they want to engage with you on smaller screens? Have you integrated marketing channels to support mobile use – including offline efforts?
If you haven’t stepped into the world of mobile web and marketing yet, these are the questions that will help get you started. Need help? Contact us to discuss further.
