More and more people are using their cell phones to surf the internet, research products, and make purchases. In fact, the research is clear: mobile is the fastest growing segment of the market. And the ironic part? Many marketers believe mobile doesn’t convert. Not true. If you optimize your site correctly, you have the opportunity to tap this growing market before your competition.
How? Pay attention to what customers want from a mobile site. That’s what Brian Massey of Conversion Science did; with this attitude, he created mobile sites that have higher conversion rates than their desktop counterparts. Yes, it’s true–mobile certainly can convert. We at Convirza want to share some tips and strategies here for you to increase mobile conversion. You may also consider watching the full webinar for more mobile conversion secrets. Get ready to rock the mobile boat!
Mobile phones are mobile. They go with us everywhere. And people use them on-the-go. Who hasn’t used their phone while they are waiting in line at the grocery store, or for a table at a restaurant, or for a meeting to start? Often people use their mobile devices during these short bursts of time, which means mobile users want everything fast. So you’ve got to make sure your loading speed is quick, almost instantaneous. Remove those hidden images that slow down your site. Go past responsive design to get a quick loading page. You’ve got less than three seconds for your page to load or many potential customers will move on.
It’s easy to forget this obvious point when you’re designing a mobile website, but don’t! A click-to-call button is a fantastic call to action for a mobile site. And don’t forget to make sure your tel links are right! Tests showed a 22% increase in calls when tel links functioned correctly.
Furthermore, making your call to action appropriate to the device people are using increases customer engagement and ultimately, increase mobile conversion. Besides click-to-call links, maps, and social sign-ins are great options for a mobile site. On the other hand, digital forms or paths to purchase are more effective on your desktop version.
If you want to see how your site functions on a mobile device, you’ve got to test it on one. Actually, you’ve got to test it on all of them. There are multiple mobile options that customers may be using, from Android to Apple or Safari to Chrome and everything in between. These options don’t all function the same, so we recommend you visit your site from multiple devices, operating systems, and browsers.
Luckily, there is a resource to help you know where to start. Google Analytics will tell you what device people are using to access your site. Prioritize what people use most often, and you’ll be giving your visitors a better experience right away.
Not only do you have to consider different devices, but you’ve also got to consider when and how people are accessing your site from their phone. Odds are, a lot of people are using their phone on-the-go, which means no wi-fi. So test your site on a 3G or 4G connection. This will help you to understand, worst case scenario, what your site is doing and allow you to make the changes that will affect how people experience your site. Conversion Sciences likes to call this burning up the cell tower because that is what they did; the cell tower outside their office literally lit on fire because they were running so many tests without wi-fi.
Let’s face it, the days of mobile 1.0 are over. And thank goodness, Mobile 1.0 looked frighteningly similar to Web 1.0: messy and unwieldy. Now is the day for Mobile 2.0, and whatever works best will draw the most traffic.
You may also want to consider how users use their devices to create the best mobile site. Watch for part two: It’s Here! Mobile 2.0 publishing later this week.
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[…] true. At least, it doesn’t have to be true for you. In fact, it is possible to have higher conversion rates on mobile devices than on desktop computers. Sound too good to be […]
[…] Mobile phones have phones in them! (Who knew?) If you are going to optimize for phone calls, then developing a strong mobile site is a must. In fact, if done correctly, you can get more form fills, phone calls, and sales from […]
[…] true. At least, it doesn’t have to be true for you. In fact, it is possible to have higher conversion rates on mobile devices than on desktop computers. Sound too good to be […]