Mobile Now Exceeds PC: The Biggest Shift Since the Internet Began

If you're still struggling to leverage the website to support goals, you have some catching up to do, as the landscape has recently experienced a tectonic shift.

Mobile Exceeds PC Internet Usage for First Time in History

In early 2014, the landscape in which businesses operate changed forever when Internet usage on mobile devices exceeded PC usage.

It has taken considerable time for businesses and brands to embrace the potential of the Internet. Today, most recognize the Internet as a vital foundation for everything from operations to marketing and sales to logistics, CRM, and customer service.

Still, many businesses and brands struggle to truly leverage the digital landscape to meet the expectations of their customers. Many more will struggle with the migration of audiences (customers) to mobile.

The time has come to seriously consider integration of mobile-friendly versions of all mission-critical assets: applications, data, the website, communications, demos, sales materials, customer service, etc.

What Are Consumers Doing on Mobile?

How do consumers use mobile devices to access the Web? According to Online Publishers Association/Frank N. Magid Associates:

• 99.5 percent access content/information
• 63.1 access the Internet
• 62.1 percent check email
• 49.2 percent listen to music
• 46 percent play games
• 41.7 percent download and use apps
• 15 percent make purchases
• 15 percent read a book

Shift to Mobile Impacts B2B Significantly

If you imagine that the mobile usage is merely a reflection of consumers logging onto social media, checking email or conducting search, or shopping, think again.

Executives lead the way in mobile adoption, validating the theory that digital assets for a business or brand must serve target audiences 24/7, and not just during business hours.

Meeting your customers wherever they work is no longer a luxury – it is a necessity. If you wish to convert interaction to action you must compel the decision-maker.

B2B Decision-Makers Rely on Mobile Devices

Mobile is preferred over the PC for executives conducting research during and after office hours, according to the IDG Global Mobile Survey 2014.

• 92 percent of executives own a smartphone used for business.
• 77 percent of executives use their smartphone to research a product or service for their business.
• 93 percent of executives will purchase that product via the Internet using a laptop or desktop.
• 86 percent use their tablet and 72 percent of executives use their smartphone to conduct research for products or services for their business.

Executives rely upon mobile devices (tablets and smartphones) to conduct business research more frequently in the evenings than any other time of day.

Mobile as a Competitive Advantage

Whether your day-to-day focus is business management, marketing, sales, SEO, social media, advertising, software development, or customer relationship management, the mobile device has increasingly become the preferred tool for work and communication. How quickly and effectively an organization plans, develops, and adapts to deliver quality mobile experiences will likely become a competitive advantage.

Some organizations may continue to view mobile as an "add-on" or supplementary effort when planning for digital interaction with customers. However, those who embrace the shift in behavior and deliver what their customers want and need to make a purchase decision will likely be the ultimate winners.

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Justifying Smartphone PPC Spend as Tablet Results Soar

There's no doubt that tablet ownership is growing month-on-month in the U.S., UK and other markets, with a predictable surge having taken place this Christmas.

The range of desirable tablets at varying price points has grown – the iPad doesn't stand alone as the only attractive option. Traffic figures back up this growth – and crucially for marketers, conversion rates do, too. Tablets accounted for 18.02 percent of UK PPC clicks and 18.31 percent of conversions, according to data released by Kenshoo.

Mobile, by comparison, accounted for 13 percent of the searches but only 3.62 percent of the conversions – and that variance is the challenge some marketers are having to deal with.

While tablet budgets increase, there is a growing trend of marketers being challenged internally by colleagues to justify mobile spend given the (comparative) low ROI it can bring. Should mobile be sidelined, the argument goes, and funds pumped into tablet and "normal" search?

Study: 90 Percent Use Multiple Screens During The Same Day

We’re living in a multiscreen world. Like arboreal monkeys in the rain forest, swinging from tree to tree, consumers now move between various screens throughout the day.

They start on smartphones, advance to the PC and perhaps finish tasks on tablets. They watch TV and search on what they’re seeing. They go back to their smartphones the next day and the process continues.

It’s a world that’s increasingly complex for marketers to follow. And the PC promise of clear attribution almost totally breaks down in this new multiscreen environment.

Google and IPSOS are the latest to try and get a handle on the new, more elusive mobile consumer. In a piece of research released earlier this week, Google and IPSOS reported that 90 percent of consumers now move “sequentially” between different screens the same day. The study was conducted in the second quarter this year with just over 1,600 US adults.

Study participants were asked to record their screen-usage behavior in diaries and then were given a survey as well. In all nearly 8,000 hours of media/screen activity were documented.

In addition to “sequential” screen usage (e.g., smartphone–>PC–>tablet) the study documented “simultaneous” screen usage (TV + smartphone, PC + smartphone, TV + laptop). In this latter media scenario smartphones were the most common “second screen.”

While TV still commands the most time spent of any media channel, consumers are no longer paying full attention (if they ever were). According to the study, “77 percent of TV viewers use another device at the same time in a typical day.” Paradoxically, however, TV programs and advertising were found to be “a major catalyst for search.” A majority of that search behavior took place on smartphones.

At a minimum, all TV advertisers need mobile optimized websites that are consistent with TV promotions. Furthermore, TV advertisers now should also be buying mobile search ads that mirror their campaigns.

Google reported that consumers had preferred screens for certain kinds of activities (e.g., tablets “for shopping and travel planning”); however they also tended to consult “the screen that’s closest.” Most often that turns out to be the smartphone.

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Mobile Landing Page Optimization - 10 Best Practices for Success

Landing pages can be used for PPC ads, mobile app downloads, promotional campaigns and more. Optimization tactics are intended to boost conversion, improve PPC quality scores, and provide a better user experience.

Yet with so many companies "not ready to do mobile", the mobile landing page experience has basically been ignored. With mobile web use dramatically on the rise, marketers can no longer ignore the impact. There are over 4 billion mobile phones on the planet, and Google estimates by 2014 more people will use mobile phones than PCs to go online.

How much of your web traffic is mobile? Ten percent? Twenty percent? Do you even know? 

A Case for the Mobile Landing Page...

When it comes to landing page optimization, a simple A/B test may yield a 20-30 percent increase in conversion. Although this is positive, such small incremental improvements don't make much sense if a significant number of mobile visits are being ignored.

For example, let's say 1,000 users visit your landing page, and 2 percent (20) of them convert. You do an A/B test, which improves conversion by 25 percent (5) users. Meanwhile, the mobile 15 percent (150) of your traffic visitors are virtually ignored and presented with a far-less-than-optimal experience. It's logical to recognize that focusing on the 150 makes more sense than the 5 new conversions, especially since mobile users are more likely to convert.

"88% of mobile searchers take action within 24 hours. 

About 70% take action within 1 hour."

~ Google Mobile Movement Study, 2011

10 Ways to Make Your Landing Page Mobile-Friendly

It's time to adapt your strategy. Instead of just designing a traditional landing page, plan to uniquely consider landing page content and layout for various devices and screens of all sizes – desktops, tablets, smartphones and beyond. Here are some tips to assist with planning:

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1. Be Accessible

Ensure your content is available and visible for mobile devices. Flash, frames, PNG-24 images, and numerous plug-ins are not accessible for mobile.

Update your site with mobile-friendly alternatives like HTML5, jQuery, and JPG or GIF image formats.

"40% turn to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience."

~ Compuware, "What Users Want from Mobile", 2011

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2. Be Fast

Your mobile pages should be lightweight (less than 20 KB total) and minimally load in under 5 seconds.

The top slowdown factors for mobile pages are the number of requests (loaded images, scripts, etc.) followed the number of bytes (page size), so strategize accordingly.

Consolidate or eliminate scripts, resize and save mobile-optimized images, leverage image sprites to enable caching one image versus many, use CSS in place of images, and apply additionalmobile web performance optimization tips to your code and content as needed.

Tools like W3C Mobile OK, mobiReady, or Mobitest can be used to determine the load time and size of your landing pages.

"43% are unlikely to return to a slow-loading mobile site. 

74% of mobile users wait up to 5 seconds; 60% wait 3 seconds or less."

~ Compuware, "What Users Want from Mobile", 2011

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3. Be Orderly

For smartphones, present a single-column layout with the priority content at the top. Mobile users are goal-oriented versus the more benefit-oriented desktop users, so always feature call-to-action task completion content (e.g., click-to-call, find a store) "above the fold" or within the top 100 pixels for smartphones.

If your call-to-action (CTA) is potentially lower on the screen, be sure to present a teaser like "scroll down for offer" to retain engagement.

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4. Be Brief

Depending upon the verbosity of your traditional landing page, there's a good chance you'll need to cut copy in half for mobile optimization.

Screen size varies, so reduction may be about 65 percent for tablets and 35 percent for smartphones. 

In other words, trim six-word headings to three or four, and trim five bullets to two or three.

Tip: Plan landing page content with mobile first to avoid the need for variations across screen sizes.

Mobile headings should ideally be only 3-4 words.

It's still important to sell the content. Leverage creative copywriting and consider visualizing benefits as icons to replace or reduce the copy.

Every single word should add value or get cut.

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5. Be Legible

Users should be able to read the page without zooming. The minimum font-size should ideally be about 16 pixels, the 100% default for browsers.

Google recommends an arm's length as a legibility guide for mobile.

A simple color palette, strong contrast between text and backgrounds, and adequate negative space between elements also play a large part in legibility.

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6. Be Call-Friendly

The top mobile user action for both SEO and PPC is making a phone call, so ensure your full phone number is visible at the top of the page.

"61% of mobile users call after a local business search."

~ Google Mobile Movement Study, 2011

Users should be able to tap/click the phone number to initiate a call, so enable click-to-call functionality by making the number a hyperlink with the tel: protocol. (See RFC 3966 for tel URI specifications.)

Example hyperlink value:  "tel:            +16515551212      "

Example HTML:

Call Now!             (651) 555-1212      

Click to Call (CTC) Tips:

• 
  Always include the international prefix (a leading "+" character followed by the country code) to ensure it works for users outside the home country
• Include a phone icon for quick visual association
• Include a call-to-action in the link text 
  (e.g., Call Now, Contact Support, Tap to Call, etc.)
• Keep the phone # in the link text for transparency and easy verbal sharing
• Display office hours as nearby (It's extremely frustrating to make a call only to find out a place is closed!)
• Include useful and/or enticing context (e.g., guarantee, promotion, testimony, etc.)
• Style the link as a button in a complementary color so it stands out (Use CSS3 buttons that don't require images for lightweight responsive design)

All of these CTC tips are good factors to consider for A/B testing!

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7. Be Thumb-Friendly

Small, compact content is challenging to click for mobile. Don't give users a fat-finger weight complex! All actionable targets should be clickable without zooming.

Design your clickable targets (links, buttons, icons, form fields, etc.) to be touch-friendly – fully and easily operable by fingers and thumbs.

Minimum target area suggestions:

Microsoft: 38x38 pixels (0.25"), Apple: 44x44 pixels (0.30")

Note: Pixel resolution varies across handsets, so buffer and test accordingly.

• Add padding to links (e.g., 0.85em or 85% for text)
• Ensure clickable images (e.g., social icons) are sized near the minimum target area
• Use margin (negative space) between clickable areas to avoid a misclick
• Pad fields and check boxes to make selection easier
• Leverage JavaScript (jQuery) plug-ins with touch swipe gestures (e.g., Flexslider,Photoswipe)

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8. Be Local

A mobile user's geolocation can typically be determined within 5 to 20 miles based on their IP address without the user explicitly disclosing their location. Based on an IP address (a.k.a. geoIP), several details of a web user's location can be calculated – country, region (state/province), ZIP code, metro area (e.g., Twin Cities), city, latitude, longitude, area code, weather station, and more. Yup. This is a gold mine for personalizing content to convert!

The MaxMind GeoIP City Database accuracy in the US is 99.8 percent for country, 90 percent for state, and 81 percent for city. Although not perfect, this data is awesome for dynamic suggestions and defaulting contact fields.

Leverage geoIP data to provide faster, locally relevant, and personalized landing page experiences.

• Personalize headings with city or metro area names
• List a nearby representatives or locations (e.g., "Stores near Minneapolis")
• Regionalize “voice” to use local terms or slang (e.g., y'all, coke/soda/pop)
• Re-center and zoom maps to the user's location
• Pre-populate location fields on web forms 
  (Tip: Default ZIP code from geoIP and then compute HIDDEN city, state, and country field values from the ZIP!)

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9. Be Form-Simple

Mobile landing page forms should be extremely short. Target seven or less fields (one to three is ideal) anticipating each additional field to potentially reduce conversion by 50 percent. Never include non-required fields.

Only show fields imperative for urgent data collection, and evaluate options to otherwise capture or compute data at a later time. The key is to get users to submit the minimum lead data (like name and email) necessary for you to respond.

If you must have several fields, consider a two-step form process (see pictured example) since it appears like fewer steps. It also comes in handy for segmenting content specific to step-one selections.

HTML5 Input Types

To aid usability, leverage HTML5 input types – number, telephone, URL, and email – for their unique data input keyboards. These render as basic input text for older systems. View this HTML5 input types test page from your mobile device to see it in action. (Scan the provided QR code or visit http://j.mp/html5inputtypes as a mobile shortcut!)

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10. Be Action-Compelling

The purpose of the page should be obvious, compelling and readily visible as an action.

To optimize landing page conversion, limit the number of "actions" to three or less for mobile. An "action" constitutes any task the user could do on the page – a link, a like, a share, a video view, a form submission, a menu expand, or any other tap/click/swipe gesture.

POP QUIZ: How many "actions" are visible on the pictured Comcast landing page?

Regardless of a total action count, the landing page should only haveone goal. Copywriting and imagery should all support completion of the one goal. If practical, postpone display of other actions until the primary action has been completed.

"One page, one purpose." ~ Oli Gardner, Unbounce (Landing Page Rehab)

Mobile Call-to-Action Examples:

Call Now Find a Store Watch the Video Contact/Email Us

Get Map Directions Add to My Calendar RSVP Download

Rate It Like It Vote Share (Be specific)

Tip: Don't autoplay videos. The user must click/tap to play the video in order for the "view" to be counted.

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