Does your business really need a mobile app?

In the continuing search engine optimization quest, is it really necessary for your small business to have its own personal mobile app? The answer is a most resounding “yes”. Any marketing advantage, especially in the mobile arena, that you can get will be worth the time, the effort, and the cost.

•  Part of your search engine optimization strategy, as well as your overall marketing strategy must be to reach those mobile users. More and more people are using their phones and tablets to do everything from reading emails to doing comparative shopping. This is especially true for those under the age of 40. If your site has not been designed in a responsive manner, you are already behind the proverbial eight ball and your search engine optimization is going to suffer. You need to integrate responsive design into your website so that it will be seen properly on a mobile device.
• Developing and deploying a mobile app for your small business greatly boosts your reach and gives your company certain immediacy. With the app, users can access you at any time from anywhere in real time. You can market to them immediately and boost your search engine optimization efficiency. You can even offer discounts and coupons, or inform them of a one day sale, in real time without them having to discover it at your site by chance.
• Big data is exactly that. Collecting data and analyzing it to improve search engine optimization as well as your delivery system has never been more vital to your success. Through your mobile app you can garner immediate feedback and opinions from potential customers. No need for them to make the journey out to your site to take one of your online surveys for a free mouse pad. Even incorporating some manner of game into your app may attract a certain demographic to your product or service that you may have not been reaching through your standard search engine optimization efforts.
• Having your own app can be a serious branding tool for your company. It is rather an exclusive club, these businesses with their own apps. This puts you in their league in the mind of the consumer. All of the search engine optimization in the world can’t buy that kind of brand awareness.

Creating and using a mobile app for your company will only enhance your search engine optimization and overall marketing efforts. Make a plan with your search engine optimization firm and then discover the possibilities of your own app.