A Very Mobile New Year

It’s going to be a very merry mobile new year! As you’re planning for your 2013 campaigns, you should be asking yourself if your mobile pages are merry and bright? Are you hitting the mark on your mobile conversions? And your user’s expectations?

iPhone and Android sales will soar this holiday season as consumer spending continues to gain confidence. According to Google’s mobile planet report, 44% of the population uses smartphones, with 66% accessing the Internet in some way every day. Add on that smartphones are a major access point for search — 57% search on their smartphone daily — and we’re looking at some pretty big numbers. We’re using our smartphones everywhere, everyday, including in our homes. 97% of the population uses their smartphone while they are at home, even with their desktop computer right in the next room.

What’s even more interesting is even with this type of volume, smartphones are not yet ubiquitous. We’ll continue to see the growth of smartphone adoption through 2013 — meaning that creating dedicated mobile campaigns that reach your mobile audience with separate budgets, bids and keywords should be a pretty important part of your overall marketing strategy for the new year.

We’ve built the case for why you should be kicking off very merry, dedicated mobile search campaigns. Now let’s talk mobile landing pages because they are just as important for your mobile campaigns as desktop landing pages are for your traditional campaigns.

Users are savvy and expect single touch interaction, easy calls to action and checkout experiences. App-like experiences, that are tightly message matched to your ad, and load as fast as Santa’s sleigh, are the way to go to ensure engagement from your users, and of course, conversions.

Integrating mobile specific features like geo-location maps, click to call, minimized forms and pronounced buttons for easy touch conversions are all best practices for your mobile pages and differentiate them from your traditional, catch all landing pages. Your mobile audience is a different segment, with higher expectations. In the moment, they are actively trying to learn more about you, call you or find you. Meet and exceed their expectations and you’re bound to land on Santa’s “nice” list.

Macy’s uses HTML5 Geolocation on their landing pages to ‘Find a Store’ nearby

If you’re still using your mobile site, traditional landing pages, adding captchas, requiring account creation or even (gasp!) using your corporate website for your mobile audience, you’re definitely on the “naughty” list. You can expect high abandonment, low conversions and maybe even some coal too.

From QR codes to eCommerce apps, it’s pretty clear that smartphones have transformed customer behavior. It’s time to be sure your mobile landing pages are keeping pace.

Want more on mobile? Check out the the Top Ten Mobile Best Practices infographic. Cheers!