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Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly for Customer Viewing? Are You Sure?
Eight years ago, Google started penalizing websites that were not mobile-friendly. Yet, 23.83% of the world’s top websites miss the mark. Does yours?
Just because a website shows up on your phone doesn’t make it “mobile-friendly.” Have you ever faced the frustration of pinching and swiping a tiny website to find a phone number, a menu, or some other bit of information you need while on the road?
Google doesn’t want you frustrated, so back in 2015, they started giving precedence to mobile-friendly websites in search results. So not only is a business's un-optimized site annoying, but it’s also getting punished in search.
Let’s take a look at a few more statistics from earlier this year: 52.08% of website visits are currently being conducted on a mobile phone, compared to 47.92% on a desktop computer. While these numbers have been neck and neck for years, and probably will continue to be for years to come, this is still significant, particularly for certain industries. Why would you want to annoy half of your customers?
Here's another important statistic: When folks are using their mobile phone, they are 67% more likely to make a purchase from a website that is mobile-friendly. Doesn’t it make perfect sense that the easier it is to buy, the more sales you’ll make?
Don’t think your particular customer base isn’t using mobile. Increasingly, the average Joe is choosing to buy the latest mobile device rather than invest in a desktop computer. Plus, lots of folks are searching in the car, at the doctor’s office, or even at home while watching TV.
So how do you optimize your website for mobile use? Here is a basic checklist:
Think through what a mobile user wants from your website and streamline the options so they can find what they need right away.
Your content should be short and use a large font on a high-contrast background.
We all suffer from fat-finger syndrome. Make it easier to click on the appropriate links by offering bigger buttons, spaced farther apart.
Make a link of your business’s phone number so that folks can contact you immediately. Or link to your chat system if that’s how you'd prefer people to reach you.
What’s the number one thing a mobile user will do on your website? Place an order? Make a call? Check their delivery? Whatever the Call To Action is, make sure it’s at the top of the page so they don’t have to scroll to find it.
- Speed up your site loading
People frequently conduct mobile searches in areas that have less than optimal internet connections. If your website is slow to load on a desktop computer with a good internet connection, just imagine how badly it’s lagging on a mobile device.
Even though it’s been many years since mobile-friendly websites became the default, yours may be one of the 23.83% that didn’t get the memo. If you aren’t sure, Google has a test tool you can use. Just type in your URL, and they’ll tell you within a minute or two how easy it is to use your site by a mobile visitor.
Does your website need a little tweaking to be mobile-friendly? If your site is on the older side, it might need more than a little reorganizing and simplifying, so let’s talk. Give us a call today!
Photo by Sasha Kim
This article is an update to “Website Not Mobile Friendly? Now It’ll Cost You.” dated 3/2/2015.
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Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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