2013 is going to be a massive year for mobile and online activity. From December 25th onwards the amount of mobile search activity is going to exceed all previous levels. So if you’re not aware of this fact or aren’t prepared for it you’re going to be missing out. 2013 could be the year that mobile search advertising either makes or breaks your business.
A study undertaken by Google discovered that 70% of mobile searches led to an action within an hour. The figure drops to 30% for desktop search, clearly showing that businesses actively engaging with a mobile audience have an advantage on their competitors.
High on your to-do list for 2013 therefore should be to get engaged with mobile. There are a few simple boxes you need to tick.
- Get a mobile site – if you’ve got a website you need a mobile version. Take a look at your Google Analytics reports and you’ll probably see that as much as 25% of your current traffic comes from mobile devices. Take a closer look, and if you haven’t got a mobile site, see how the engagement levels for that traffic differ from the site average. It won’t be as good.
- Deliver content that’s relevant to a mobile audience – Are you local? What offers do you have? How easy is it to buy, enquire or sign up? These are important questions for a mobile user. Make it easy for someone to get into the purchase funnel and convert.
- Be seen – Create PPC campaigns that direct people to your mobile website. Bid realistically and remember PPC is not about saving money it’s about making money. Ads that appear at the top of a search page are more likely to convert. Due to the limited space available on a mobile device, particularly a smart phone, this scenario is magnified. Do the research and make sure you are on top!
- Be seen in all the right places – Mobile paid search can be broken down into component parts and each part can be used to a greater or lesser degree. Look at search, display and even in-app advertising when weighing up the options available in the arena of mobile advertising.
- Remarket – 2013 will be the year when remarketing becomes main-stream. Up until now it’s been the people in the know who have been doing it, that’s going to change and if you’re not remarketing in 2013 you’re not only missing out but you could be helping competitors by providing information but not following up on it.
As with any PPC activity identifying and understanding you audience is key. This invariably starts with your keyword list. In many respects the keyword list you create for mobile campaigns will mirror that of your desktop campaigns but there will be small but significant differences.
People searching on mobile are usually on the move, they are out and about, so location and immediacy are important to them. They are not interested in reams and reams of information, they want the bottom line and they want it now. Your keyword lists should reflect this and should include reference to location and, if you have them, offers that are currently running. Your ad text should also take this into account as well. It’s all about being able to anticipate what the person searching wants to see.
Through the keyword tool, Google now lets you look at statistics that are relevant to just mobile devices. Using this you’ll be able to identify keywords that have more or less relevance to a mobile audience and make your mobile search advertsing campaigns more successful. It’s important when targeting but also very important when bidding. You may find that bidding higher on keywords in your mobile campaigns actually gets you a better return on investment in the long run.
Some studies have suggested that 80% of searchers leave a website because it doesn’t cater for mobile users, it isn’t optimised for mobile. Together with the fact that everything indicates 2013 will be the year in which mobile search surpasses desktop search, it’s clear that businesses still putting all their resources into a desktop site are going to miss out. So the question you should be asking yourself isn’t ‘do I need a mobile website?’ it should be ‘how soon can I get a mobile website?’.
