The Mobile Website Revolution
Mobile Spells Opportunity for Businesses
Do you follow Mark Riffey’s blog? Mark is another local fellow who is plugged in to all things Internet and he always has a great perspective on what’s happening online with sound advice for businesses on how to leverage these trends. Mark and I have never met in person, but we sing most of the same songs. His post today is entitled, Why the tourist drove past your business, and he makes some huge points about how mobile Internet is changing the landscape as it relates to businesses and their marketing efforts.
My local clients and some readers of this blog are aware of my twenty-year involvement in the Internet business. For those of you that just discovered this site, suffice it to say that I have been building Internet companies and consulting with small businesses since before those fellows at Google completed their thesis on a new idea for a search engine. In the time since Al Gore invented this Internet until present day, few trends or innovations have had the impact that we are now seeing with the smartphone revolution.
Mark’s article includes some great ideas that every business today needs to be focusing on because ‘Local mobile search’ is a game changer. With 1 in 4 visitors to your website using a smartphone and Google now showing different search results for computers and mobile searches, you cannot afford to ignore this trend. You need to become ‘mobile friendly’ and capitalize on the benefits of a mobile-ready web presentation.
For the past two years, the majority of my consulting projects have involved mobile. The early adopters are already seeing an uptick in traffic and new business as a result of having a mobile website. The smartphone illustration at top-right shows a few examples of local businesses that have adopted a mobile-ready website. In addition to reaching new consumers, smartphones offer some huge benefits that a typical website does not; such as the ‘Tap to Call’ feature of your phone number.
Learn more about mobile-friendly websites and how
we can help you leverage the smartphone opportunity.
Get Local Mobile Links
Obtaining quality links to your website has always been part of website marketing, and that may be even more important today than in the past. This was one of the motivations behind our developing the “Flathead Valley Business Directory™”. My clients (and all local businesses) needed quality local links from authority websites, so we decided to create a business directory to serve that purpose. The Flathead Guide was launched in January of 2013 and provides an impressive number of click-throughs to listed businesses and sharing valuable Google juice with every link.
Our objective is to build a mobile-optimized valley-wide business directory that will include every company large or small, which is why we priced it to be a no-brainer decision and not rob from your advertising budget. For only $4 per month, a business can have a ‘mini website’ that includes editable text, a photo slideshow, all contact information, a Google map to your location, links to all your social sites and more.
Take Away…
Get mobile-ready! Make some calls and find out what it would take to create a mobile-friendly website for your business. Typically, a mobile site is little more than a scaled-down presentation of your primary website. Visitors want to be able to see what you offer, where you are located and be able to contact you. If you are paying more than a few hundred dollars to accomplish that, make some more phone calls.
Get some quality local websites pointing to your site and I would recommend (shameful self-promotion) that you begin by adding your listing to the Flathead Business Directory™”. There isn’t a better advertising value to be had anywhere – at any price.
Trust me, I’ve been playing in this space for a long time and I know the difference between what’s hype and what is sound marketing advice. Responding to the smartphone opportunity is not optional; it is how you will remain in business and prosper post 2014. The Mobile Website Revolution is here, and it doesn’t cost a lot to play.
