Mobile Commerce Needs Local Mobile Websites
Local Mobile Websites, Mobile Commerce and Local Search
Mobile commerce is measurably the fastest growth area in digital marketing. With smart phone sales outstripping traditional PCs and laptops in 2011, the time is long gone when there was any doubt about the need to optimise locally as well as for mobile. One of the most powerful drivers for this is the fact that the “constantly connected consumer” actually takes note of mobile ads that arrive on their device. This Infographic from Google themselves, gives a good run down of the reasons why making your website accessible to mobile devices is so important.
Although the statistics quoted in this graphic are strictly speaking USA data, the picture in the UK is growing rapidly to the same level of uptake.
What is so Important About Mobile & Local Internet Search?
Statistics compiled here in the UK and abroad suggest that around 50% of searches carried out on mobile devices have what’s termed “local intent”. In plain English that means that the people doing the searching, are looking for your services - in your local area . Google is getting better at detecting a searcher’s location from mobiles and tries to give different people suitable results, depending on where they are. This is a critical concept to understand. If you have a traditional business with a fixed location you could easily be missing out if your online presence isn’t waving a flag for your services and location. Smart traditional business owners are aware of how important it is to optimise their websites for mobile, to dominate their local marketplace and survive the current tough times. Do you know where to start?
Businesses such as chiropractors, solicitors, construction companies and accountants tend to have premises at one or more fixed locations which gives you the opportunity to make YOUR business super relebvant for your service or product AND the area you serve. I can bet you you are not the only one competing for your line of business in the Carlisle, Penrith, Brampton or Dumfries area. This is where local search engine optimisation can pay massive dividends. How can a company like Consulting Cumbria Ltd help?
When it comes to mobile search by local prospects simple things count for a lot. Google will often present Google Places listings (that’s the map with the orange pin markers) for mobile phone searchers where the Big G interprets that the searcher is looking for something that is usually required locally. it is likely that more than half of all UK businesses have still not created or claimed their Google Places entry effectively and are being out-competed as a consequence. In areas such as Cumbria and the Borders that is just the tip of a financially crippling iceberg.
What Mobile Website Services are Available?
- Creation of a dedicated mobile landing page for an existing website.
- Creation of a complete mobile version of the website
- Enabling acces to WordPress websites via a mobile plugin – cheaper and good as a first step.
- Local URL (such as CarlislePlumber.mobi) or mobile directory on your existing site
- Implementation of SMS marketing and mobile advertising.
- QR codes to connect real world media to your web presence via smart phones and devices.
- 1-5 page design
- Customer provided content can be edited to ensure that it is optimised to show up in search results locally to your target area.
- Users on any mobile device can easily find you on maps or contact you directly from the prominent phone number.
As every business is unique we do not offer a standard package for mobile sites. Factors to consider include: your budget, the value of your brand, the value of a customer referral, the time-scale within which implementation is required, the amount of technical work needed with an original website and its developer. At the very simplest level a presence can be established for less than the cost of a 2000 leaflet drop in the area – and you don’t end up in the paper recycling box!