Most of us would feel naked without our smartphones and tablets. Your mobile device is probably your go-to tool for a lot of daily activities, like researching products and services, finding local businesses or buying things online.
Where you should go for dinner? Is the vet open late? Which robot lawn mower got the best reviews? The answer is always a few taps away.
Consumers visit business websites on their smartphones multiple times during the purchase process.
Here’s the catch: People expect a streamlined experience when they’re mobile – simpler, quicker, more convenient. And that takes some planning. These three areas are a good place to start forming your mobile strategy.
Make Your Website Responsive
Mobile users who don’t like what they see when they land on your site will simply double back and search for something more user-friendly.
Quick test – open your company’s website on a mobile device. If the text is so small it gives you a migraine, if your fingers fumble over the navigation, your site isn’t mobile optimized.
The answer is responsive design: a method for designing websites so they adapt to the user’s device. As the screen size and dimensions change, your website does too, to provide a better user experience. Font sizes adjust, graphics resize and page elements move to make information easier to find.
Responsive design also makes things simpler for you. There’s no need to design and maintain a separate mobile site, with separate SEO programs that split valuable traffic.
Optimize for Local Search
Our phones go with us everywhere, whether that’s a trip downtown or a flight to Bugscuffle, TN (yes, a real place). More and more mobile searches are focused on local needs. Mobile users expect search results to be within five miles of their location.
So when someone searches for “Greek restaurant in Bugscuffle,” you want your Greek restaurant front and center.
At the same time you’re implementing responsive design, make sure to include location-specific keywords in your SEO and PPC campaigns, as well as optimize company information on social media and directories. The same goes for any content you create.
Optimize Marketing Campaigns for Mobile
Your mobile-ready website will act as a hub for your other marketing activities. So it’s important to ensure a consistent experience no matter how a customer interacts with you.
Email: Research shows that 75% of smartphone owners prefer to use their phones to read email.For tablets, it’s 21%. Are your emails using responsive design?
PPC Campaigns: Both Bing and Google offer ad extensions for PPC campaigns that allow searchers to call with a click, view maps and more. Mobile users are task-oriented, so these additions improve response rates on mobile devices.
Display Ads: Use audience targeting to match your advertising message to the mobile devices your audience is using. Develop device-specific display ads with a simple message and a clear call to action.
How are you planning to make your marketing mobile-ready? Contact us for expert help!