Why Your Business Needs a Mobile-Optimized Website
Google executive John Nicoletti recently asked: “When you woke up this morning, how far away was your phone, and how long until you started using it?”
Most of us sleep with a mobile phone nearby, and it’s often the first thing we grab in the morning. There are 91 million mobile Internet users in the U.S., and yet Google estimates that only 21 percent of its top advertisers have a mobile-optimized website. Mobile Internet searches will soon surpass (if not already) searches done from a desktop computer. If mobile users cannot quickly access the information they are looking for, they will bypass you for your competitors whose websites are optimized for smartphones and tablets.
A Google research study determined that 78 percent of U.S. Internet users go online to search for information about products and services before they buy. Eighty-four percent of smartphone owners use them to enhance in-aisle shopping by scanning codes, performing price comparisons, and when it comes to food, calculating calories.
Translation: Your website needs to be optimized for on-the-go users. Here’s how:
Loading Speed
It’s important that your messaging is concise and your pages load quickly on a mobile site. Websites that load perfectly fine on a high-speed-connected desktop computer may load slowly on a 3G or 4G wireless device. A website that has been optimized for a mobile device should keep graphical elements and clutter to a minimum, thus increasing load speeds and usability.
Navigation
Look at the main website for Delta Air Lines and then look at the mobile site. If you view the main site on a handheld device, it’s information-overload. A website that is difficult to navigate will often cause increased bounce rates and loss of conversions. Conversely, the mobile-optimized Delta site is simplified and incorporates navigation that is touch-screen friendly. Well done.
Viewing Text
Text on the screen of a mobile device needs to be easily viewable. If you do not have a mobile-optimized website, then your messaging may not appear properly on a smartphone or tablet. It’s imperative that your mobile site uses a text size and font that can be easily rendered by a mobile browser.
QR Codes
The use of QR (quick response) codes by businesses is a great way to attract consumers to a mobile website. Smartphone users can use the device’s camera lens to scan a code, which directs the QR application to your mobile-optimized platform. This is a powerful way to engage customers and allow them to connect with your brand by joining a mailing list, reading your blog, or allowing them to “like” your Facebook page. This on-the-spot interaction is referred to by Google as the Zero Moment of Truth – being at the right place, at the right time and with the right content.
Competition
Online businesses are competing with each other for customers. If you do not have a mobile version of your website, then your business will be losing out to competitors. You need to be ahead of the curve if you want to generate leads and beat out your competition. Mobile users who search for keywords may find the link to your website and navigate to it for the first time. This means that first impressions are paramount.
EverSpark Interactive has helped dozens of companies deploy mobile-optimized websites. Contact us about your optimization needs – before your competitors do.