Mobile Website “Cheat Sheets” for Local Businesses

According to the research, half of all local searches are now performed on a mobile device. With more people accessing websites using their smartphones – iPhone and Android – it is important you have a mobile website that is readable on a phone. Load times, readability and images render differently on a smaller screen than they do on a MAC or PC. If it isn’t mobile-friendly, you run the risk of your customer or prospect navigating away from your website and turning to a competitor’s site. It’s no secret that the consumer is preparing to make a buying decision when a search is in progress to locate your business or to search for one of your products or services.

We’ve prepared these “Cheat Sheets” to help you understand it is no secret in our society, mobile devices are more pervasive than computers and it is time for you to develop a mobile marketing strategy for your business. To help you make the leap to considering and implementing a mobile-friendly website for your business, we have prepared mobile device usage facts, mobile website facts and benefits and a mobile website “Getting Started” checklist.

Consumer Mobile Device Usage FACTS

• Consumers are using their mobile devices to access the Internet more than ever before – and it’s expected to grow at astonishing rates over the next 12 months and beyond.

• There are approximately 4 BILLION mobile subscribers across the world.

• Most mobile device users keep their phones within arm’s reach over 90 percent of waking hours.

• Nielsen predicts that smart phones will account for nearly half of worldwide mobile sales by 2013. This is a clear indication of how much more the Internet will be accessed via mobile devices.

• Americans today are spending an average of three hours per day on the Internet from their mobile devices.

• Over the past few years, the shipment of mobile handsets has grown 16% annually – reaching 400 million sold in the last quarter of 2010. Mobile device companies sold a total of 1.39 billion units in 2010.

  

• Approximately 30% of U.S. mobile phone users have a smartphone according to Nielson. This number is expected to grow to approximately 43% by 2015 according to eMarketer.

• In 2009, approximately half a BILLION people went online using their mobile device. This number is expected to double within the next 5 years.

• By 2014, mobile Internet usage is expected to exceed desktop Internet usage.

• According to Nielson, 70% of mobile users plan to upgrade to 4G service within the next year so they can have faster Internet speed while using their mobile devices.

• According to founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, customers around the world have ordered more than $1 BILLION U.S. dollars from Amazon.com using a mobile device.

• Gartner also predicts that by 2014, more people will access the internet from their mobile devices than from their PC desktops.

• According to Facebook official statistics from January 2011, more than 200 million users (out of over 600 million Facebook users) access Facebook using their mobile devices; also, mobile Facebook users are twice as active as non-mobile users.

• More than 200 million YouTube views occur on mobile devices every day.

• 86% of mobile Internet usage happens while the users are watching TV.

• Mobile marketing methods have proven to be effective in acquiring new customers, providing service to existing customers, and driving repeat business through relationship-building.

• When combined with other marketing methods, mobile marketing has proven to increase conversion rates.

• Studies show that as time goes on, people will prefer to deal with technology over human interaction.

Mobile Website FACTS & BENEFITS

• Studies show that current mobile web-user experiences are dissatisfied when it comes to viewing and navigating websites. Websites that have not been optimized for mobile viewing are too cluttered and negatively impact the visitor’s ability to locate information.

• Traditional websites are designed to be viewed on a computer screen instead of a mobile device. This means that most regular websites are not compatible with mobile devices.

• More and more people are using their mobile devices to access the Internet while on the go. In fact, one-third of the world’s population use their mobile devices to perform Internet searches.

• One-half of all Internet searches for LOCAL products and services are performed from mobile devices.

• Gartner reports that approximately 96 million mobile searches performed in 2009 were by those looking for a “location –based” (LOCAL) service. This number is expected to grow to more than 526 million searches by 2012.

• Mobile-friendly websites receive higher mobile search engine rankings.

• Mobile-friendly websites have higher speed, making the visitor experience more pleasurable.

• Mobile-friendly websites attract both “new” and “repeat” customers by giving your business “instant mobile marketability” when your visitors land on your mobile site with all of the important business information clearly and easily accessible.

• Can be viewed anytime and anywhere mobile cell phone coverage is available.  Due to the massive amount of Internet-enabled mobile devices across the world, this means your website can easily be exposed to many millions of people.

• Makes it easier for “On-the-go” visitors to easily find your business and contact you with one-click calling, one-click email, and instant directions. This eliminates the need for your customers to take “extra steps” in order to contact or visit your business.

• When users are successful in finding what they need while visiting a mobile website, they’re more likely to come back.   When mobile users land on a website that is all distorted, they quickly exit and make a mental note never to return.

• Have the advantage of coming up higher in search engine results for local searches performed on mobile devices. This means that when people search for your type of product or service using their mobile device, you can show up higher in the results just because you have a mobile website.

• Gives you the advantage over your competitors; most of which are not even leveraging the powerful benefits of mobile marketing.

• It is easy to track your mobile success with free reporting and analytic tools available with most mobile platforms. Simply track your visitors and make improvements where necessary.

• Integrating social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube with your mobile website is simple and will help boost your profits even more.

                       Mobile Website “Getting Started” Checklist

                       Ready to get your own mobile-friendly website?

1. Decide what enhancements you want to provide with your mobile website.

• Easy access to your phone number and one-click calling.
• Easy access to your email address and one-click emailing.
• Easy access to your product information.
• Easy access to directions and a map to your establishment.
• Easily accessible through higher search engine rankings

• Retrieve Information Only
• Make Purchases
• Redeem Coupons
• Opt-in to Your List

3. Decide on the content for your mobile site. Keep the amount of graphics and content to a minimum as mobile devices navigate well the less content there is.

4. Decide on a mobile platform or method to create a mobile-friendly website for your business.

• You could purchase programs to help you create your own mobile website or you could hire a professional to do it for you.
• Design your mobile site to be very clean and simple. Only provide relevant content and information that is easy to access.
• Keep it simple – your visitors will appreciate it! Mobile users don’t care about the look and style of your website.
• Create a mobile site that enhances your visitors’ experience instead of distracting them.
• People who access websites from their mobile devices are usually looking for one specific piece of information and then leave.
• Make sure that all of your pertinent information is easily visible on your mobile website. This includes your phone number, address, directions, map, menu, contact capture forms, etc.

5. Track and measure your progress. Test various types of campaigns to drive traffic to your website. Use SMS/Text messaging and QR codes. Be sure to view the analytics of your mobile website to see how many views and conversions you are getting. No matter how many visitors you’re getting, at least you’ll know that they are finding what they need now that you have a mobile website.

If you would like more information about creating a mobile-friendly website for your business, give me a call at (925) 309-4888.

Related articles

• 7 Reasons why your Auto Dealership needs a mobile website in 2012 (slideshare.net)
• Mobile Ready Websites (centexmobilemarketing.com)