90% of US consumers who own mobile devices access local business information.

(Source: TMCNet June 28, 2011)

Last week Google launched a new feature within their Google Analytics Reporting Package, which shows the number of people who are accessing your website using a mobile device.
I have reviewed these reports and the numbers range from 10% to 35% (and increasing monthly).
Also, Google can now give us the key terms that people are using to find a desktop website vs a mobile website through their Adwords Tool. The majority of the time the key terms are the same but this reports does show some differences in how people using mobile devices search for businesses and services.

By having a mobile website, your company gives mobile device users a more direct line to your business….actually, your business phone. One great feature is the ‘click-to-call’ button. The user can click your phone number on your mobile website and the mobile device will automatically call your phone number. There are many other reasons to have a mobile website, but one of the other more compelling reasons is that it is designed for mobile device viewing. Standard websites are hard to read and navigate on a mobile device.

Coding a website to automatically go to your mobile website is very important. You can see how this works on your smart phone, ipad or iphone. Go to www.PanchosRestaurant.com (Manhattan Beach, CA Restaurant) and you will see that it is redirected to m.PanchosRestaurant.com. The same goes for www.MauriciosGrill.com (Bakersfield CA Restaurant).  www.RayneDrops.com (Los Angeles Water Softener Company) goes live this week. The mobile device user does not have to do anything, just surf and use the easier to use mobile website on their mobile device. This is called Site Transcoding. Google Mobile, AOL, Windows Live and others use transcoding software in order to give their users a more uniform user experience. In practice this means that they have decided to impose mobile web site presentation standards of their own, and if your site doesn’t conform to them, then they will take your content and repurpose it to the design, layout and format that they feel is best suited to the user and her device.

Of course, almost every local and national business type will benefit from having a mobile website. We are currently rolling out mobile websites in many different business categories but the basic features for each vertical are basically the same.

Many companies have invested hundreds and thousands of dollars on their websites and online presence; however, very few are catering to an ever growing segment of their customer base and prospects…the mobile device user.

The biggest part of the mobile website development is deciding on what content and features you want on your mobile website. The click-to-call button is the most obvious feature but here are more ideas for your mobile website:
1. Embed Google Map – Make your business easy to find.
2. Mobile Website Specific Coupon – Great way to generate additional business.
3. Newsletter Sign Up – Increase your marketing database.
4. QR Code Campaign – Great for tracking marketing campaigns.
5. Contact Forms (Instant Quote, Emergency Service, Order Service) – Make it easy for customers and prospects to contact you.
6. Social Media Integration (Facebook, Twitter) – Mobile devices integrate nicely with social media.
7. Youtube Videos (Promotional, Tutorials and others) – Tell your story in a video.

Your site visitors (and all major search engines) are using the mobile web in different ways and for different purposes. Phones Are Not Built Like PC’s (and Macs).People are accessing the web using a small keypad, predominantly with one hand. This tends to make a difference to their patience thresholds, and makes SEO, usability and ‘findability’ critical to your mobile marketing efforts. Content and presentation methods of the desktop web will no longer apply in the mobile domain. Users are more than likely to be on the go. Being on the move means users are likely to be performing tasks.  They may be searching for location information and/or time-sensitive actions, such as searching for a particular restaurant or a particular piece of information, flight departure time or an emergency service such as a locksmith, plumber and others. Almost every business type can benefit from having a mobile website.

Optimizing a mobile website for search for search engines takes much more thought as you have space for fewer key terms. The planning of this phase is critical to make sure you mobile website is found and clicked. Search engines are using ‘predictive search’ on mobile searches just as they do on their desktop versions but with fewer key terms.

Contact us for more information about building your mobile website and optimizing it. We currently have two full-time developers working on mobile websites. If you’re wondering the cost of a mobile website, you can figure $500.00 to $1500.00 (depending on the features and the amount of content).

800-708-1748
gomobile@page1listings.com

Get a Mobile Website Design quote.

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