The marketing world is running to keep up with the changes in consumer behaviour, with big search engines like Google and Bing fuelling expectations. And just in case you hadn’t heard, Bing has jumped back on the ‘VERY IMPORTANT’ list again as it is now powering Siri and Edge voice searches – predicted to be the next game changer in search engine optimisation work. So – what do you need to be ahead of the game when marketing in a mobile world?
Google’s clever algorithms and massive databases are second thinking our every move. Put in a search query into Google and it will predict from your browsing history just what you may want; and they will be localised to you because your phone or tablet has told Google where you are in the world!
So what does this mean for your company?
According to Google Insights Research (March 2017), internet users are now 36% more likely to use a smartphone when they look for availability of an item in a local store, than just a year ago. Add to that, every second lost in mobile page load can drop your conversion rate by up to 20%. It is not hard to see the potential problem if your website is not fully optimised for speed and user experience. The evidence is all pointing to a heightening of brand expectation; we are becoming intolerant of websites that don’t fulfil our expectations, those that seem not to care about their visitor; it has become personal.
What can you do?
89% of people are likely to recommend a brand after a positive experience on mobile.
Number one rule is to be honest about your website. Is it really as good as it might be? When was the last time you checked your site’s download speed and performance or ventured into your Google and Bing analytics to see where your visitors are coming from, and how? It is all there, the information that will make your site effective is waiting for you. There are even free programs that will test the speed of your site and record visitor’s movements so you can see if the flow and user experience is right.
The importance of mobile has been made even clearer by Google’s recent announcement. Sometime in 2018, Google will switch to a mobile-first index. For the first time, Google will determine rankings based on the quality of the mobile version of your site instead of the desktop version. A new Googlebot will crawl your mobile site and determine if its performance, content and user experience are up to scratch. If it fails, other sites will be higher ranked. Even if you’re not focusing on mobile you will still be judged by your mobile site, so now is the time to take action.
Good marketing is all based around understanding what your customers want, so be brave and view your site with fresh eyes and meet the mobile challenges of today – it will help your bottom line tomorrow.
