If you think you don’t need a web site that is mobile responsive, think again. Most consumers today have a smartphone, which they actively use to browse the internet. Yet, it’s a message that still bears repeating. Positioning your business where your customers are is crucial for any business.
Let’s take a look at this trend and shed some more light into some hard numbers:
There are more mobile device users than desktop users.
If you were doubtful about the rise of mobile device usage before now, perhaps this study from ComScore will help change your mind. In 2008, it was believed that mobile devices would overtake internet access from desktops by 2014. Well, the experts were right. As the illustration below indicates, the number of mobile device users vs. desktop users leveled out at approximately 1.6 billion in 2014. By 2015, mobile device usage completely overtook desktop usage by over one million users. Although it’s too early to show statistics for 2016, this number will most likely continue to rise.
What does this mean to you? It means that consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to browse the internet, and if your web site is not mobile responsive, you are likely missing out on a large percentage of potential customers who are using mobile devices to find the services and products that you offer.
70% of mobile searches lead to online action within one hour.
Based on research performed by SurveyMonkey (http://www.iacquire.com/blog/mobile-behavior-big-game-seating-a-study-with-surveymonkey), mobile device users tend to take action quickly, making them more motivated than desktop users to do so. This also indicates that mobile searches are very effective when you take into consideration conversion rates.
40% of people will visit a different web site if the one they are viewing is not mobile friendly.
What does this mean? Assuming a potential client can find your business when using a search engine, if your web site is not mobile friendly, you can very likely lose their business. This is because people know they have choices, and if one doesn’t satisfy them with a seamless user experience, they are likely to look elsewhere.
Mobile devices dominate personal time.
We know that mobile device usage is only going to increase. But how about the time ranges during thef day when people are using their mobile devices? Are mobile devices only used during a small portion of the day? Does the amount of usage actually support having a mobile responsive web site? According to a 2015 ComScore report, mobile devices are used most frequently from early evening to early morning. During a typical work day, these are the time frames when most people are at home or doing personal tasks.
As illustrated in the figure below:
- Smartphones are frequently used from late night to early morning (before or after a typical work day).
- During the day, desktops are the most frequently used when people are at work.
- At night? Tablets take over when people are performing their personal tasks.
What does this mean to you? It means that most consumers are using mobile devices during their “downtime.” When consumers are performing personal searches, they are more likely to do so on a mobile device vs a traditional desktop computer. This lends even further evidence to the fact that a mobile responsive web site is crucial for the success of your business.
A mobile responsive web site impacts SEO and Google search results.
Google uses very intricate algorithms to determine which web sites display at the top of their search results. These algorithms consider everything from keywords to image tags. In an effort to continually improve their product, Google is constantly updating these algorithms. This in turn filters out irrelevant results from populating search results.
One factor considered in these algorithms is whether a web site is mobile responsive. While Google will not remove your web site from its search results if it is not mobile responsive, it does negatively effect your chances for “top of the page” placement. As Google continues to expand its SEO criteria, be sure that it will continue to integrate more mobile requirements into its algorithms.
What does this mean to you? It means that having a mobile responsive web site will only become more important in determining if your web site will display at the top of search engine results.
To learn more about the importance of a mobile responsive web site and how JV Innovations can help build one for your business, contact us today at [email protected].[/text_output]
