Importance of a Mobile-Optimized Website for Your Business

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Look around you. Whether you are in a waiting area, a supermarket line, or on a bus, you will see people focused on their mobile devices. There’s always a chance that you’ll see several people browsing the web with their gadgets and glued to their smartphones.

Nowadays, people across the globe are on-the-go and checking websites from their phones. Even news programs and TV shows are embracing this. They are encouraging viewers to tweet, download an app, or use their phones to interact with them.

As a business owner, this gives you a hint that you need to make your websites more mobile friendly. It is important your business tailors the online experience to mobile users. This will allow you to better connect with your target market.

What is a mobile friendly website?

It is Responsive, it is the smartphone-friendly version of your website. It does not mean that your website can only be viewed on mobile devices. Being smartphone-friendly or Responsive means:

• the content should fit the mobile screen correctly,
• the site is designed for a smaller screen,
• it allows  easy navigation via larger touch-screen buttons,
• it displays relevant information for user’s needs,
• it should give quick access to business contact information,
• the design should be clean and functional, and
• loading time is faster.

Across the globe, more and more people are accessing the web on their mobile phones, smart phones, touch pads and handheld devices. There has been a dramatic increase on the number of users accessing the web on their mobile devices. Also, the sales of smartphones and tablets are on the rise.

This is a great opportunity for brands, marketers, publishers and advertisers. Surprisingly, not only small businesses but even some big e-commerce companies have not yet gone mobile friendly.

Here are some facts, figures and statistics (sourced from several sites) clarifying why you should optimize your websites for tablet and smartphone users.

• Google survey of mobile users: 72% of mobile users expect brands to have mobile-friendly sites
• Mobile phone users: 50% of mobile phone owners use their mobile device as their primary Internet source
• 80% of mobile time is spent in apps
• About 1.2 billion people are accessing the web from their mobile devices
• 41% of people use mobile devices to check a product online
• 52% of tablet users prefer to shop using their tablet than their PC
• Mobile wallet: In the next 5 years, half of today’s smartphone users will be using mobile wallet as a payment method
• Mobile search: 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action
• Mobile ads: perform 4-5 times better than online ads
• Mobile coupons: 10 times higher redemption rates than print coupons
• 50% of smartphone users use a GPS/map app in order to find a business location
• Shopping activity: 79% of users have used their devices for shopping related activities

According to a projection made by Juniper Research, mobile devices will account for 30% of global retail ecommerce spending by the end of 2013. Aside from that, it is expected that mobile retail purchases will reach $707 billion by 2018.

(Source: http://www.juniperresearch.com/viewpressrelease.php?pr=419)

Advantages of a Mobile-Optimized Website

The mobile trend is indeed unstoppable.

Google is already pushing for the creation of mobile websites, as they help in SEO ranking. Google has been ranking websites with a mobile presence higher than those who do not have one. If your website is not mobile-optimized, it won’t rank as well in Google’s smartphone search.

Here are more advantages worth considering:

• Improve user experience. Mobile-optimized websites improve user satisfaction and users are more likely to do business with the company.
• Brand identity. A mobile-optimized website makes your brand stand out and creates a positive identity for your business.
• Competitive Advantage. It lets you capture your visitors’ attention and not lose them from competitors.
• Connectivity. A mobile-optimized website gives businesses the opportunity to connect with their target audience anytime and anywhere.
• Mobile sites lead to mobile purchases. Shoppers are more likely to make a purchase if a site is optimized for mobile use.

Is your business website already optimized for mobile devices? If you’re not sure how your website looks on mobile devices, enter your website URL into our Responsive Device Tester at http://marketinghelper.net/responsive-tester/.  If you’re not happy with the way it looks, let Pamela Finnesand, The Business Maximizer, assist you with making your website more mobile friendly.  Schedule a time to discuss how you can increase your mobile device user customers with Pamela at https://thebusinessmaximizer.com/appointments/.