I have just finished attending a webinar from Google about the use of Mobile Devices. It strongly validated the recent upsurge in conversation about the need for mobile devices. There is a clear, fast-growing trend in Internet use on mobile devices. For more than a year now, more people have used mobile devices (iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.) than desktop computers to access the Internet. The charts we saw in the webinar showed explosive growth, especially recently.
So, this is an issue that needs to be addressed because some sites simply do not work well or at all on mobile devices. Here is the best advice you will get today: The mobile issue is here and it is time to address it. The quick will be rewarded with advantages while the slow adopters are going to miss out on short-term opportunities.
One point of the webinar was to inform us that Google is out in front reading the trends and developing advantages for this medium specifically. They pointed out that generally search behavior on mobile devices was parallel to the sorts of behaviors we see in traditional searches. However, there are advantages that can be built into mobile campaigns that are showing better and faster response rates. So, if you have a paid search campaign, say with ReachLocal or if you run your own Google Adwords campaign, there are features you can count on related to geo-location and click-to-call which is a great and convenient function that is perfect for a handheld device. Apparently this is the tip of the coming iceberg.
So, yes, this is the time to make adjustments to your Internet strategy to include mobile device strategies. The biggest issue I see right now is making your site mobile-friendly. Flash sites are not readable on mobile devices. Traditional site design does not necessarily translate well to a mobile device. And, that leaves you with a less than appealing presentation on mobile devices. What many people do not understand is that you can have a web site that is designed for mobile use only on your web site. To see an example look at ESPN.com on your desktop and on your mobile device. Do the same with CNN.com. The format is different depending on the device you are using. When a mobile device accesses your site, the server knows this and will display the mobile version of the site. This gives you a chance to make a mobile-friendly presentation. This can be a huge advantage in presentation. Think of when bandwidth use increased dramatically way back when and the first cosmetic sites began presenting themselves with high-end graphics or Flash. The difference in presentation is similar in this situation.
So, about mobile-friendly sites: Last week, I sent a handful of clients an email about a “starter” strategy for mobile devices. The email described what Dog Star Media thinks is a basic mobile site for a cosmetic surgical or cosmetic dental practice. We also suggested across the board that all clients strongly consider adding a mobile site now to get in early. The basic mobile site we suggested is about 7 pages and can be expanded and developed at a later time. The idea now is to get a superior mobile presence on the web now affordably, then watch your Google Analytics for trends on how to develop the mobile site. In the meantime, you can confidently engage any new mobile search tricks related to paid search. Our advice: Get in the game, we can develop the site more fully later.
If you want to see an example, look at the mobile site we have placed up for Dog Star Media. Use a mobile device and look up dogstarmedia.com.
We priced it affordably and already have a handful of responders who will be getting their mobile sites soon. These clients will take an immediate advantage in presentation and mobile search. Even if they only experience a trickle initially, they will be appealing to the cutting edge user, which is usually the better customer and they will have a few laps on the later adopters in terms of refining their strategy to include mobile. There really is no good reason not to jump in now with all this data. If you want to take one small step in the right direction to make your Internet strategy that much more effective, I suggest you consider our starter program for mobile sites. Please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com for details.
