Back in May 2008, web analyst Mary Meeker made the game-changing prediction that by 2014, more people would be accessing the internet on mobile devices rather than from fixed connections.

 

According to comScore and other industry research, this prediction was right on the money. Since that time, mobile has continued to gain ground as the preferred option for web browsing, search and e-commerce transactions in Australia and worldwide.

 

Why you can’t afford to ignore mobile users

 

As of May 2016, 77% of Australians owned a smartphone. This is the second highest penetration in the world, behind South Korea at 89%. (Pew Research Center)

 

Most people who visit your website and use your online services will be doing so on their phones so it’s essential that your content is tailored for their devices.

 

Think about your own experiences visiting web pages on your phone that aren’t optimised for mobile. Did you mind scrolling left and right on a page designed for a 1280×1024 desktop screen, zooming in on tiny text and fiddly buttons? Or did you abandon it in frustration?

 

Would you want most people who visit your site to have the same experience, or to offer them something better?

 

Mobile commerce

 

Mobile transactions are growing 300 times faster than other e-commerce transactions. Between 2013 and 2016, the number of transactions made on mobile devices was expected to increase by 42 per cent, compared to 13 per cent growth for e-commerce as a whole. (Coupofy)

 

In Australia, 35% of e-commerce transactions were completed using mobile devices by the end of 2015, as customers embrace the freedom offered by their phones to make purchases wherever they are.

 

Criteo’s State of Mobile Commerce report also found that the majority of transactions were made using dedicated e-commerce apps (54%) compared to in mobile browsers (46%). Conversion rates are also 120% higher for apps, which remove barriers and make it easier for customers to complete their purchases. App users spend more, browse four times as many products, and are twice as likely to add items to their baskets as customers shopping in their mobile web browser.

 

Mobile search

 

Image: Google

 

Google reported that mobile searches overtook desktop searches in 2015, and the search engine responded by launching a new ranking algorithm that prioritised mobile-friendly pages in app and browser searches. So did Bing.

 

It’s not enough to design your website for good SEO any more – you also need to make sure your pages are optimised for mobile, otherwise they will be penalised compared to your mobile-friendly competitors.

 

How to make your websites mobile-friendly

 

If you’ve never tested your website on a mobile device, use this handy tool from Google to check whether you’re already good to go.

 

If you’re not already optimised, there are two options for making your websites mobile-friendly: the easy way or the hard way.

 

1. Use responsive web design (RWD)

 

When you’re setting up your website or business blog, make sure that the platform you’re using is set up to scale images, text and other page elements automatically, whether they’re loaded on a mobile, desktop or tablet.

 

If you’re using WordPress or another content management system (CMS) to design your website, you can choose from a range of responsive themes or install plugins that will take care of it.

 

If you’re setting up your website manually, make sure that Googlebots are allowed to crawl the pages and their assets (including images) to change how the page is rendered.

 

2. Build a separate mobile site

 

The more labour-intensive option is to design your mobile site from scratch and manage it alongside your desktop site.

 

Image: Google

 

At the basic level, this involves rearranging the content of every page into a mobile-friendly layout. But it’s a bit more complicated than that.

 

Because these are separate pages, they will require a unique set of URLs – often mobile.example.com or m.example.com. You can set up automatic redirects to make sure mobile users only see mobile pages (and vice versa), but you need to double-check those links to avoid embarrassment.

 

If you have an older site, some page elements may not be compatible with mobile browsers. This goes for sites built with Flash, outdated e-commerce platforms and videos or other elements restricted by device.

 

What about tablets?

 

According to Criteo, tablets accounted for 34% of mobile transactions in 2015 compared to 66% for phones, so this audience shouldn’t be ignored. Unfortunately, Google’s statistics do.

 

Depending on the size and type of tablet in question, visitors may be directed to either your mobile or your desktop site. In some cases, forcing a redirect to your desktop site can improve the user experience and conversion rates for tablets, especially those with larger screens.

 

Optimising your websites for mobile users isn’t just recommended – it’s mandatory if you hope to succeed in the mobile age. Find out about more ways you could be harming your success with content marketing mistakes to avoid.