Optimize for Mobile – Challenge Accepted

Are you looking for game changers?

Then take a look at the mobile & tablet market.

The smartphone and tablet devices have rapidly changed our behavior.

It wasn’t long ago when people asked why to build a website, the obvious answer was, because now everybody goes online to research and shop.

Now clients ask, why mobile? And the answer is pretty much the same. Because now not only everybody goes online to research and shop but they can do it at any instance, from any place and while on the go.
When trying to convince a client why to invest on building an online presence the following arguments were used for a while.

1. Acknowledging that internet is a reality in which you need to be present
2. The internet has changed completely consumers’ decision making process
3. Consumers not only research online but also buy online
4. Social media have granted great power to customers while broadening their influence on potential clients
5. Having an integrated and aligned presence in both a physical and a digital point of interaction with a customer will strengthen and empower your brand.

Well, the same arguments still stand if we substitute the words online/digital with mobile/tablet.

Why? Let’s look at the stats

• 23% of online sales are made through smartphone & tablet devices
• 55% of purchase related conversions occur within 1 hour of initial mobile search.
• 87% of smartphone users are looking for local information via their phones, your local business needs to have a responsive or mobile optimized site to remain in the competition.
• Companies with mobile optimized websites increased their mobile conversion rate by 5%.
• 43% of consumers are unlikely to return to a slow loading mobile site.
• 97% of mobile carts are abandoned due to distraction from unnecessary elements
• 52% of tablet users say that they prefer to shop using their tablet rather than their PC
• 72% of tablet owners make purchases from their devices on a weekly basis
• Tablet visitors are nearly 3 times more likely to purchase than smartphone visitors

If on the other hand your client comes up to you insisting that the smartphone/tablet market isn’t yet deep enough to support the investment required… then again the stats speak for themselves.

• 35% of businesses own mobile optimized websites
• 73% of mobile search devices trigger additional action and conversion
• The penetration of mobile devices has reached on average 40% in Europe and 74% in the UK alone
• 45% of users in the UK access the social media through mobile.

And now that you finally got the most desired YES from the client you better get to work

Optimize for Mobile – Challenge Accepted

Let’s start small on this. Here are the must do things when you are optimizing for mobile.

Deploy on multi – screen devices.

You do have a few options here. You can develop a mobile website, build your website in HTML5, use adaptive designs, or adopt responsive design.
A responsive design will allow your website to be compatible with different screens, ensuring that your content will always be reachable by the user. Instead of creating different versions of your website for Android, iPhone, iPad, desktop, laptops, Kindle etc. you can create a responsive website and save yourself from the madness of adapting your website for every single available device in the market.
When you are sure that your content can be viewed by any device or screen, it’s time to utilize all available channels to promote.

More and more people are using the social media through their mobile devices meaning that opportunities rise for advertising on these devices.

1.   Google AdWords mobile campaigns optimization

Enhanced campaigns enable digital advertisers to customize their advertising messages and spending budget for mobile devices.
So, dig in your analytics and reports for a throughout analysis on the performance of the campaigns on mobile devices and the mobile markets in which your revenue is higher. A proper analysis is the beginning of every attempt of optimization and this is no exception.
After that go to your campaigns and start by creating your mobile ads for these markets and adjusting your bids and budget accordingly.
Last but not least, Test and Analyze, Analyze and Test. The eternal journey for optimization continues.

2.    Mobile Facebook Ads

Build your ads with mobile and tablet in mind. According to some sources, 60% of users accessing Facebook do so through smartphones and tablets.[2] In fact, Facebook’s mobile ads generate 2.5 more revenue than desktop ads, and the market for mobile is growing: In the first quarter of 2013, mobile-ad sales rose close to 25% from the last quarter.[3][4] What practical impact does this have? For one, it means no right-hand column, which is where ads are shown on desktop. In order to make the most out of your ads, keep this in mind.

Use Facebook’s Power Editor in order to select ads that translate to mobile. In the Power Editor, pay attention to the ad placement. Some people suggest placing the ad on both desktop and mobile in the news feed in order to optimize click-through rate. You can try different combinations of placements and experiment with how it affects your bottom line.

Congratulations, you have completed your first level optimization for mobile!