}

B2B Marketers – How to Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

by Jennifer Beever

It's Time for Mobile MarketingI’m not the only one talking about the importance of implementing mobile marketing. It’s time to make sure that your website and other online marketing platforms show up clearly and consistently for all users, including those using smart phones and tablet devices.

More people are browsing your website on their mobile device. I wrote about this in a blog post last month, 6 New Ideas for Your 2013 Marketing Plan.

According to a recent blog by MarketingProfs, Why Are Publishers Dragging Their Feet in Mobile Marketing?, “mobile browsing has increased 192% since 2010, accounting to close to 18% of all web traffic in some regions, according to a study published by StatCounter [in] May [2012].” MarketingProfs points out a lack of standards and uncertainty as to how to go about whether or not to create a separate mobile site or make your existing website mobile-friendly are two reasons content marketers are not moving on this issue.

In his blog post, 3 Ways Mobile Insights Are Informing Online and Offline Marketing, Paul Dunay points to three things to learn from mobile users – 1.) use real time data to target content; 2.) have a consistent, optimized image everywhere, and 3.) provide a custom solution for mobile users.

So how do you make sure your information is presented well on mobile devices?

1. Find out how many visitors view it with a mobile device. Google Analytics presents this data, as do some statistics-tracking programs offered by website hosts (you have to activate this – web hosts don’t automatically start accumulating data on your behalf when your website goes live). This information can help you decide when to address the issue. If the number is high you should address this sooner rather than later. If there are few using mobile devices, you can defer the project.

2. Find out what options you have for creating a mobile-friendly site. You may be able to modify your website or use a plugin (in the case of WordPress and Joomla, to name a couple) to make the site mobile-friendly or to create a separate mobile site.

3. Choose a strategy. If your website is old, you may want to update it and make it mobile-compatible at the same time. Another cost-effective option for a site with older technology is to create a separate mobile site now, and address the legacy site later.

4. Put an implementation plan together. Include your strategy, find required resources, schedule required tasks and document specifications.

5. Execute and track results. Use Google Analytics to measure activity on your site using mobile devices. Are your mobile visitors navigating your pages on their device? Are they engaged? Are they converting to customers?

Need help addressing mobile marketing? New Incite can guide you through the process of going “mobile-friendly”, from option-review to execution – contact us today.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

wine101nc.com February 5, 2013 at 11:24 pm

Hey outstanding blog! Does running a blog like this require a great deal of
work? I have virtually no knowledge of programming but I was
hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyhow, should you have any recommendations or techniques for
new blog owners please share. I know this is off topic nevertheless I simply had to ask.
Appreciate it!

Jennifer Beever February 11, 2013 at 10:16 am

Hi, the blog takes some time – depending on how fast you write it can take 30 minutes to one hour per blog post. If you’re doing it right, you are tagging the blog posts with keywords, taking time to think of a good headline, finding the right image to add to the post.

Blog setup can be done by any programmer. Some people have done their blog setup themselves, using online help or books about blogging. Good luck!

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