Mobile-responsive web design is a big thing these days. It’s no longer a buzzword or a marketing trend; it’s a real requirement for your online marketing to be successful. In fact, studies show that people simply stop using websites that don’t work on their mobile.
According to Google, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing, and 40% would visit a competitor’s site instead.
That’s a lot of potential customers that you could be losing if you don’t have a mobile-friendly site. If that’s not enough of a reason to get a mobile-friendly site – well, here are some more reasons.
Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites. In 2015, Google updated its algorithm to expand their use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor. In 2018, it’s gone one step further and now prioritises the mobile version of your site over the desktop version – called “mobile-first indexing.”
This means that the mobile version of your site is the starting point for what Google includes in its index. Essentially, the mobile version will be considered the primary version of your website – so it’s important that it works just as well as the desktop version.
It creates a good user experience. Have you ever clicked on to a website on your phone, and the whole thing bunches up into one corner, or it’s so small you can’t read the text or click the buttons? If you have, I’m sure you’ll agree: it’s very frustrating and not a good experience!
Most people (myself included) will just click straight back off a site like that and go to the next one down in the search results. So if that’s your website that’s not mobile responsive, you’ve just lost a potential customer to your competitor.
Mobile usage is constantly growing. More and more people are using mobile devices to conduct their Internet activity. In fact, more than 50% of web searches now take place on a mobile device, and that statistic is only growing.
By not having a good mobile site, you’re essentially neglecting to cater for this huge amount of people who may come across your website on a mobile, and in doing so, losing out on conversions.
It will help you build credibility. With a good mobile-friendly site, customers, clients, and influencers in your industry who access your site will have a proper experience, which will encourage them to see you as a credible source.
It shows you take your business seriously, and have been able to invest in a professional, good quality site. Quite frankly, these days any website that doesn’t work properly on a mobile feels slightly suspect!
Word of mouth is a powerful thing. Around 57% of consumers won’t recommend a business if they’ve had a poor experience with their mobile site.
Remember, people are more likely to remember and talk about a bad experience than a good one, and given the power of social media, negative word of mouth can spread like wildfire. So protect your reputation by making sure you have a strong mobile-friendly website.
Want to chat about making your website mobile-friendly? Let’s have a conversation.
