Google has been big on mobile for a while now, predicting for some time that mobile will grow to be a huge way that people interact with the internet — and thus far all statistics suggest that Google is right on the money.
Google has recently taken their mobile ideals a step further, launching a new site: HowToGoMo.com. The site’s main purpose seems to be to convince people that they need a mobile version of their site.
HowToGoMo is packed with the latest data on how people are using mobile devices to interact with the web. It also has a mobile emulator so you can see what your site (or your competitors’) looks like on a smartphone. There’s a list of agencies and DIY tools for building a mobile site, and finally a download complete with best practices on mobile site design (it says there are 10 best practices, but really it’s 10 categories with 36 best practices).
The Importance of Mobile
In this instance, Google is absolutely right that most businesses will need a mobile version of their site. This is particularly true if your business is local and you expect customers to find you, or if you sell products online.
Many informational sites and blogs will also benefit hugely from a mobile presence, but strictly B2B sites that do not sell a product online or rely on local foot traffic will benefit substantially less.
In our own whitepaper on mobile trends we found that industrial B2B sites received, on average, half the mobile visits of consumer oriented sites. However, we also found that even for industrial companies there was an increasing trend of mobile usage, which has not yet slowed down. It’s very possible that industrial will cross the line that consumer industries have already crossed with the need for a mobile site.
Mobile Statistics
Some of the statistics that Google presents in HowToGoMo.com include:
- Mobile searches have grown by 4 times since 2010. (What they don’t mention is that Google has well over 90% market share on mobile searches).
- By2013 more people will use mobile phones to access the internet than will use PCs
- 60% of mobile users expect a site to load in 3 seconds or less. 71% of mobile users expect a site to load on their mobile phone in the same time it takes to load on their desktop.
- 57% of users would not recommend a business with a bad mobile site, and 40% have moved on to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience.
- 95% of smartphone users have searched for local information. 61% of mobile users call a business after searching.
Here at Ecreative Internet Marketing, we started developing mobile sites some time ago when our research showed that mobile devices were growing to become a significant percentage of traffic to some of our clients’ sites. If you are concerned about whether or not you need a mobile version of your site (not all sites do), please feel free to Contact Us and we’ll be happy to take a look and offer advice.