Make Sure Your Business Is Mobile Friendly

While you may or may not have heard that Google will begin incorporating data on whether a site is mobile friendly or not into its ranking algorithm this April, there are several reasons that your business should make sure it has a mobile friendly presence and your search ranking is just one of them.

In a recent poll conducted by Edelman, it was indicated that online search engines are considered to be the most-trusted media source. Based on their data,  64% of internet users worldwide consider online search engines the most trusted source for information. Make sure that your business is in a position to capitalize on that trust by having a mobile friendly web site.

If you don’t think mobile searches are significant, think again.  In a recent comScore report, it was reported that smartphones and tablets now account for 6o% of all online traffic. Additionally it has been shown in a separate study that a higher percentage of mobile searches result in purchases that with traditional searches (comScore). You want to makes sure that this high quality traffic is finding your business.

This just applies to restaurants and retail outlets, according to eMarketer it is a similar situation when it comes to business information. Where search engines remain the most popular source of information (31% of respondents, while only 20% turn to newspapers).

There are many fine mobile web site developers that can help you with your project but you should also consider how mobile applications fit into the picture and how they can benefit your business.

A mobile application developer can help you develop an application that fits your business needs but keep in mind how it will benefit your online search strategy as well. Mobile app listings are given high importance in Google’s ranking algorithm so having mobile applications can place you very favorably when it comes to mobile search. Additionally having a mobile application has been shown to affect your businesses’ search ranking beyond just your application’s search position.

Beyond mobile’s affect on your search position customers have come to expect mobile optimized web sites and mobile applications from businesses and you might be turning customers away if you are not providing these to your customers.  Since June 2013 more than half of the time spent shopping online has been done via mobile device [Internet Retailer]. Savvy shoppers are familiar with good mobile user experiences and have come to expect them.

Image: Ulf Bodin (Flickr) http://bit.ly/1Na41gm