The use of mobile devices, especially smartphones, has begun to dominate the way people search and the way people buy. If you haven’t already optimized your site for mobile then you are already way behind. For your mobile presence to effectively drive traffic and secure those conversions, it must be different from what you have been doing with your regular desktop site.
- Mobile users are there for a specific reason and that is to buy. They don’t have time for anything that doesn’t get them to where they want to be. They want to get in and out of your site fast and to be satisfied with their purchase decision. This is where you must be extremely focused on the customer and their journey. If they can’t find what they are looking for quickly, as in less than a minute, they will be gone and will likely buy from one of your rivals.
- Your mobile home page must be lean and informative. Your calls to action must be concise and easily seen and acted upon. Less sell and more direction to where the customer needs to go to make that conversion. Speed and utility is everything with your mobile site. Ease of navigation is key because mobile visitors aren’t just curious or just looking. They are there to buy. Forget all of the hard sell and promotion. Make it simple for them to access your products and then make it even easier for them to pull the trigger on that conversion.
- Everything is important at your mobile site from expandable images to a zoom capability. Color and movement are crucial as it can be linked to speed. Any hesitation by your visitor can mean a lost sale. You site must be optimized for mobile because nearly 70% of all searches are being done from mobile devices.
- Always remember that much depends on your data. Go out to your mobile site and be a customer. See what actually happens and track both your traffic and conversions there. Remember that any mobile based ads you run must direct the visitor to your mobile site not your desktop site. Don’t forget to give Google your site map as well as always be testing your site for speed. If your mobile site is loading too slowly, more than two seconds, then you will lose that visitor and that chance for a conversion.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer