There are some amazing new statistics about mobile phone usage. With these numbers, there is no doubt that mobile must be a major aspect of small business’ web strategy and will only become more important. In this next phase of Internet evolution, how will your business be affected?
At LimeCuda, our biggest pet peeve is seeing our clients and other small businesses getting wooed into spending lots of money in the pursuit of false hopes. Although mobile design has a much lower risk of underhanded marketing activities than services such as SEO (we are not degrading SEO as a service, only certain SEO “experts” that do their clients more harm than good) there is still opportunity for salesmen to capitalize on the “need to get your site mobile” without putting the specific needs of your small business first.
Here are a couple of things to think about when considering the development of your approach to the mobile web.
Track YOUR Analytics!
Take a look at the statistics presented in the mobile marketing video above. These statistics further show that mobile IS the current (and future) trend in Internet use. However, what is the trend for your website? Are your analytics showing you what you need to be focusing on a mobile site design? Or are your analytics telling you that your current web budget is better spent on SEO or Social Media strategies? Just because there are a large number of people searching for local businesses from their phone, what good is it for your business to have a mobile website if you don’t even have a Google Place page? Focus on your goals and utilize your budget to best reach these goals. Be tactical with your budget.
Mobile Analytics Examples from our Clients
Mobile Visitors from Jan 1st 2010 – April 30th 2012
We ran some analytics reports from a few clients that have data going back to 2010. These are a good applicable sample. Other clients’ analytics show similar trends. The below graphs show mobile visits over time. (each dot is a month)
First Four Months of the Year
(mobile as a % of total visits)
Year |
Client A |
Client B |
Client C |
| 2010 | 1.32% | 1.15% | 2.2% |
| 2011 | 7.26% | 4.59% | 4% |
| 2012 | 17.5% | 9.70% | 9.6% |
You might say that 10% of your visitors isn’t massive but the trajectory is increasing. It is not a stretch to predict that by next year a solid third of your traffic might be mobile!
Have you determined your goals for being online?
Do you know how to track and understand your analytics?
We would love to discuss these issues with you directly! Contact us today!
What are your customers looking for?
So you have determined that you need a mobile website now! What next?
You need to determine what people are trying to accomplish when using your site from a mobile device. This is definitely more difficult to determine and relies on educated guessing, however there are some great clues that can be found within the search terms and traffic flow in your analytics.
For example, imagine you run an upscale Italian restaurant in a major city (we’ll say Atlanta since that is the world outside my door right now). A sample of your customer base might be:
- Wealthy locals
- Locals celebrating special events (anniversaries, engagements, etc.)
- Tourists (everyone budgets at least one “fancy meal” for their vacations)
- Business Travelers
Your website has an elegant design which entices the visitor with the feel and atmosphere they’ll experience when visiting your restaurant. It showcases your world-class chef, large, elegant images of your featured dishes, and a quick way to contact or book a reservation. What does a mobile user want to do? Some possible intentions:
- Get directions to your restaurant (they’re already in the car!)
- Find your number to call
- Book a reservation
- Browse your menu
- Find out if you have any specials running
While these are just educated guesses, your analytics might give you good insight into what the mobile user wants. Why not give them this information more immediately, while still providing the same feel and atmosphere from the main site design?
Effective mobile web strategy must begin with knowing what is most helpful to the mobile browser.