With over 50% of global web searches now conducted on mobile devices, the future (and now!) of search is mobile. And more mobile searches means more users linking to content that will be viewed on a mobile device. If you’re relying on your desktop website to convert mobile visitors into customers, think again; a full 80 percent of mobile shoppers say they’re more likely to interact with and purchase from a website that provides an engaging mobile experience. So mobile marketing and optimization is the way to go.
Now here’s a funny concept: a mobile visitor isn’t necessarily mobile. A study by Google and Nielsen found that 77 percent of mobile searches happen at work or home, where a desktop computer is likely available. Just 17 percent of mobile searches actually occur on the go. As users turn to their mobile devices for convenience, the ideal mobile experience with the most potential to convert will deliver key information quickly and easily.
With streamlined delivery in mind, here are a few concepts to help you better market for mobile:
Mobile viewers are different from desktop viewers
Unlike desktop viewers, mobile viewers are driven by behavior in the moment, and require a streamlined experience including sites that:
1) Loads within 3 seconds. Longer than that, and more than half of your visitors will abandon your site.
2) Simplifies paths to purchase or inquiry, optimized for what mobile users want. Not sure what mobile users are searching for? Tools like Google Analytics or KISSmetrics can identify the pages mobile users are accessing most often.
3) Features a mobile-friendly checkout process. A shopping cart that is not optimized for mobile will turn away 30 percent of would-be purchasers from their transactions.
Mobile sites should deliver on search results
Have you ever felt the frustration of clicking a search link on a mobile device, only to be redirected to a site’s mobile homepage because the content isn’t available on mobile? (Google doesn’t like these faulty redirects, either.) While your mobile website should prominently display popular content, it should not necessarily be “website lite.” Nobody wants to “view the full site” to find information in all its pinch-to-zoom glory—nor is this necessary. You can include all of your desktop content with the navigation and site architecture reworked for mobile. This makes for essentially the same experience between desktop and mobile, presented in a slightly different (and non-frustrating) way.
Mobile marketing features are your friends
These handy marketing features of mobile-optimized sites can provide a better experience for your visitors (and for your conversion rates):
1) Click-to-call. This simple-but-effective application of the voice call is popular with mobile sites. When a visitor clicks or touches the phone number displayed on a mobile site, the handset will dial the number.
2) Store locator. This location-based service upgrades the “enter your zip code” method by using a mobile device’s GPS to find a nearby store. When paired with mobile mapping, visitors will be at your store’s doorstep in no time.
3) Mobile coupons. Bye-bye, printed coupons: hello coupons via SMS, email, QR code, and barcode. Mobile coupons can foster loyalty, drive sales, attract search traffic from coupon seekers, and encourage links.
If after implementing better marketing for mobile, your mobile conversion rates aren’t what you thought they’d be, remember this final tidbit: mobile searches drive multi-channel conversions. Users have access to a variety of mobile and desktop devices, and 98 percent of users switch between devices over the course of a day; 90 percent simultaneously use a mobile and a desktop device to accomplish the same goal. That means a user who finds your site as a mobile visitor may well be converting as a desktop user, so keep an eye on your overall totals.
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