by Samirah Roye
Have you ever heard of the term “Mobilegeddon”? It sounds epic and perhaps rather daunting, but rest assured you are in the right place to gain the knowledge, tools and armour for you and your website to charge into the battle of mobile optimisation.
Your website forms an integral part of the connections you make with people online. In the 21st century digital technology, smartphones and social media dominate many of the pathways you have as a business to reach out to existing and new client bases and for new budding audiences to discover you.
Now more than ever it is important to ensure your slick desktop website and its features can translate seamlessly onto a mobile device. In the article I will highlight 3 key reasons why having a mobile friendly website is a must for you and your business.
Credibility
First impressions count
The first reason your business will benefit from having a mobile friendly is credibility. For this we will have to think about it from a user’s perspective and first impressions really do count.
A potential client accessing your website on a mobile device would feel at ease and reassured if everything is working as it should. They would apricate the attention detail and effort you put in to better their browsing experience and these assurances will reflect greatly on how they view your businesses approach and competence.
Stay Modern and Relevant
How many people do you know that have a smartphone and use it regularly? Don’t worry, I don’t want you to count them all, but I’m sure the list is almost endless.
Digital technology is constantly evolving and so is the way people use and interact with it. Ensuring your website design and functionality is inline with digital trends and user habits will give your business the leg up it needs to move with the times and not be left behind.
Responsive Design
With responsive web design your website will have full functionality to be able to adapt and respond to the specific mobile device being used to access it. This seamless transition from desktop to tablet or mobile view will boost the user experience and your performance reputation.
Automated responsive design will ensure you have a clear and simple to use design across platforms and that your fonts and buttons are easy to read and click on. You can also integrate clickable call to action buttons with contact numbers, emails for added ease for the user.
Google prioritises mobile friendly websites
Increases Google's crawling efficiency
Essentially google wants your website to be mobile friendly for their benefit but most importantly for yours. Google are keen to encourage website owners to optimise their website for mobile use as they state, “In many countries, the number of smartphones has surpassed the number of personal computers”, because of this google have had to adapt how they monitor and rank websites on their search engine.
Having a mobile friendly website will improve the ranking of your website when relevant searches are made through google. They have even provided a useful tool for you to check whether your website is mobile friendly, all you need to do is enter your website URL.
Try it out for yourself and be one step closer to an optimal online presence:
Reach customers faster
Local SEO
Having a mobile friendly website will open your potential client base up to people who are doing mobile searches. As mentioned in the previous segment, search engines such as google prioritise mobile friendly websites but in addition there are many local SEO perks you can benefit from.
Every smart phone has integrated GPS which is useful for a several reasons and statistics show that “94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones”. By including key information in your mobile friendly website will increase the likely hood of your webpage being recommended for relevant local searches.
Below I have included a list of must haves to consider ensuring you maximise your discoverability potential:
Business name
Address
Service area
Number
Working hours
In addition, you can include relevant geographical content such as:
Blog
Details and descriptions of services
Things in the area
Offers or local customers
So, are you ready to take on the 'Mobilegeddon'?
After reading this article you should feel armoured with the knowledge of why having a mobile friendly website is vital for you and your business to thrive in the 21st century.
If you are ready to take the next steps in your mobile optimised journey or have any questions regarding website design, our team at Dimension Creative are happy to help and work with you to produce a standout online presence for you and your business.
References
https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244175
https://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/mobile-friendly-websites-content-important-01908026
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/google-algorithm-change-mobile-friendly
https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/get-started#why
https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/mobile-seo/responsive-design
https://www.theukdomain.uk/why-having-a-mobile-friendly-website-is-more-important-than-ever/