17% of Global Web Usage Coming From Mobile Phones

In a recent study done by Statista, an online statistics portal, the company discovered that 17% of global web usage and page views were coming from mobile devices. North America alone saw an increase in page views coming from mobile devices rise almost 6% over last year. While this may seem like a relatively small percentage of the overall page views, it is important to notice that it was a 6% increase over the 2012 number of 11% of the page views. As this number is expected to increase as more and more people buy smartphones, it is important for advertisers to realize the potential that this change has for its customers and the way they market to them.

Responsive Design

As noted in previous posts and several articles throughout the web, responsive design is the new trend in web development and design. Built to format to any type of device and format, responsive design allows users to view your website whenever and with whatever type of device they are on. Utilizing responsive design for a site not only allows the advertiser to create one unified template for both desktop and mobile, but also saves web developers time.

Mobile Apps

With the increase in page views via mobile devices, it is important to take into factor a mobile app for an advertiser. A mobile app not only allows you to occupy space on a customer's smartphone or tablet, but also can give them one touch or tap ability to visit your website. With a mobile app, advertisers can also reach their customers through push notifications, text messages and more.

Social Media

As customers increase their time spent on mobile devices, so should advertisers. Social media review and location apps like Yelp and Foursquare should be at the forefront of this development. By effectively creating and branding these pages, as well as promoting them on the website and brick and mortar shops of businesses, businesses are effectively creating a customer generated focus group that allows the business owner to see what their busiest days are, what time that they get the most people and so much more. This type of interaction between customer and business also helps to increase that pages rankings within search results pages, improving the businesses chances of reaching new customers.

With the numbers mentioned above only increasing as the years go on and more people switch to mobile devices over their desktop or laptop, it is important for businesses to adapt to the new platform, just like when the internet was the next big thing. Failure to correctly adapt can and will lead to losses in sales, drops in visits to the site, and potentially loss of page rank and position in the search results pages. 

1 in 3 People Now Own a Tablet – 3 Opportunities to Maximize Reach on Mobile Devices

A recent study conducted by Pew Research, a third (34%) of Americans aged 18 or older noted that they own a tablet computer, which is almost twice the amount of tablet owners than a year ago (18%). If your company has been slow to adapt, or even avoiding the move into the digital space, then now may be the time to show this survey to your peers. As a business in today’s ever changing technology landscape, it is important that you leverage each and every form of mobile technology in order to ensure a profitable company. Some of the ways to help your company maximize their reach on mobile devices are explained below.

Know Who Your Target Audience Is

Most people would assume that since tablets are a relatively new technology that it is being adapted by younger generations (18-34) rather than the older generation, right? Wrong.  According to those surveyed, almost half of (49%) of adults age 35-44 now own a tablet computer, significantly more than the 18-24 age group (33%), and the 25-34 age group (37%). So what does this mean for your business? It can mean that either A) your target audience is more comfortable with the smaller, more convenient smartphone and therefore you should begin using marketing techniques geared towards this mobile device, or B) the need to create a mobile friendly website is definitely something that should be put on top of the year’s digital marketing strategy plan. Know your target market and what type of mobile device they prefer or own can help to create a better understanding of how and where you should market your business, helping to maximize your reach.

Begin Your Move From Desktop to Mobile

While 1 in 3 own a tablet and over half of Americans owning a smartphone, now is the time to begin experimenting, working on, and improving your mobile website and brand presence. Does your website layout change to fit the size screen it is on? Or what about a mobile application for an easier purchasing process for customers on the go? These types of things can help to improve customer relationships, build brand loyalty, and make for an overall pleasant experience for customers.

Optimize Your PPC Campaigns for Mobile Searches

With the large majority of your target demographic owning either a smartphone or tablet, and mobile searches accounting for nearly half of all searches, it is important that your PPC campaigns adjust to reach your target users as well as others looking for your products. With the creation of enhanced campaigns in Google Adwords and Mobile PPC in Bing, you can now create or adapt current PPC campaigns to reach mobile device users. You can decide on whether you want to only appear on smartphone searches, tablet searches or more, allowing for your company to reach the device most often used by your target demographic.

These opportunities are available for all companies to use so that they can help to maximize their reach on mobile devices, and shouldn't be overlooked. As more and more customers begin switching to mobile devices at double the rates of years past, it is important for companies to step back and look at the potential benefits each device has for themselves and their customers, and how they can leverage that into a profitable mobile development strategy.