Failing to optimize your website for mobile devices can cause customers to click the 'back' button on their browsers and use the services of a competitor. That's why it's critical to improve your mobile page loading times and enhance the overall experience for smartphone and tablet users. Learn how to execute a mobile optimization strategy below!
The Basics: What is Mobile Optimization?
Mobile optimization involves making changes to your website so it displays correctly on devices like smartphones and tablets. With more than 15 billion mobile devices in the world, according to Statista, it's never been more important to optimize your site content and capitalize on this technological trend. Mobile optimization might involve:
- Increasing the loading times of your website pages on mobile devices
- Making it easier for mobile customers to browse your content
- Creating responsible designs for mobile websites
Smartphone and tablet screens are smaller than those on desktops and laptops, so you need to optimize your website to display correctly on mobile devices. This process can take weeks or even months and involve complicated tasks like CSS execution and schema markup. That's why it's a good idea to work with a marketing agency specializing in mobile optimization that will do the hard work for you.
Why is Mobile Optimization Important?
Mobile optimization is critical because so many of your customers will access your website from a smartphone or tablet. Customers will have a poor user experience if your content doesn't display correctly on smaller mobile screens or if pages take too long to load. Negative experiences on your website could cause customers to go elsewhere and not want to purchase products and services from your business. Customers might also talk about their user experiences on social media and other areas of the internet, damaging the reputation of your website. Many of the world's most successful brands have invested in mobile optimization to take advantage of mobile clients. If you haven't integrated this strategy into your business yet, there's no better time to do it than now!
The Benefits of Mobile Optimization
Here are some of the pros of mobile optimization you need to know about:
Increased sales
Customers are more likely to purchase your offerings if they have a good user experience when browsing your website on a mobile device. Making a few changes to your website to accommodate mobile users could drive sales in your business and help you improve your bottom line.
Improve SEO
Search engines like Google love mobile-optimized websites because they provide users with a better experience when browsing content on smartphones and tablets. Therefore, optimizing your website for mobile devices can improve search engine optimization (SEO) and result in a higher position for your website on search pages. That can increase the visibility of your brand on search platforms and drive traffic to your pages.
Save money on app development
Optimizing your website correctly might mean you don't need to invest in app development. Customers will be able to access your website's features via their internet browsers, meaning there's no need for you to create a separate app. App development can cost thousands of dollars, so mobile optimization can actually save you money.
Improve user engagement
When customers can access a mobile-friendly site on smartphones and tablets, they are more likely to spend more time on that website. Mobile optimization improves user engagement by keeping people on your pages for longer.
How to Increase Mobile Conversion Optimization
A website that provides a mobile-friendly user experience will lead to more purchases because of increased functionality, access, and efficiency. It's easier for people to browse your product pages from a smartphone or tablet if your website works properly on these devices.Also, by improving page loading speeds on mobile devices — one of the tenants of mobile optimization — prospects will convert to customers in a much quicker timeframe. For example, people will be able to sign up for a service or purchase a product without having to wait for your website to load on their mobile devices. That will increase mobile conversion rate optimization.
Best Practices to Optimize Your Mobile Website
Here are some mobile optimization best practices that can make your mobile website more user-friendly.
Increase page loading times
Customers might leave your website if it takes too long to load. That's why you should improve page loading times by caching web pages, optimizing rendering orders, and completing other tasks. Increasing page speeds will means customers will stay on your website for longer and visit your site again in the future.
Improve product browsing
There are various ways to make it easier for customers to browse product pages on mobile devices. These methods include creating page gestures and ensuring add-to-cart buttons are "above the fold" — at the top of product pages before users scroll down. You should also make sure text displays correctly on smaller mobile screens, which improves functionality.
Create responsive designs
Responsive design is one of the most important parts of mobile optimization. It means designing your mobile website pages to respond to user behavior on smartphones and tablets. This process might involve using CSS and HTML features to improve the functionality of pages and provide visitors with a better user experience.
Things to Consider in Mobile Optimization
Mobile optimization can throw up various technological challenges. Here are some things to consider when designing pages for smartphones and tablets:
Ensure desktop and mobile sites convey the same information
Many businesses make the mistake of including different information on their desktop and mobile websites. That can confuse bots that crawl your website for search engines and determine the position of your pages. Ensure consistency between desktop and mobile sites by including the same information about your business, even if it displays differently. Say your desktop website contains directions to your physical store. Make sure this information is available on your mobile site.
Ensure the correct icon and text sizes on mobile websites
One of the biggest challenges of your mobile optimization strategy is ensuring everything displays correctly on your mobile website. You'll want to make sure icons and text are the right sizes on your mobile site to improve readability and accessibility. Testing your website on different devices will ensure you achieve this goal.
Ask your customers want they want from your mobile site
Surveying customers about different mobile features can improve mobile optimization. You can then design your mobile website with customers in mind. For example, customers might not want videos that automatically play on mobile sites because they are on a limited data plan.
Optimize your entire website
Some businesses only optimize a few website pages for mobile devices. That might mean other pages don't display correctly on smartphones and tablets. Don't make this mistake! A proper optimization strategy means making changes to every single page on your desktop site so customers have a better mobile experience.
Work With a Partner to Enhance Your Mobile Optimization Strategy
Mobile optimization means enhancing your website so customers can access information on smartphones and tablets. Following the tips above will ensure website visitors have a good experience when browsing content across different devices, resulting in more engagement, sales, and better user experiences. You can also improve SEO, increase mobile conversions, and save money on app development when creating a mobile optimization strategy.For the best mobile optimization results, consider working with a marketing agency that understands how to enhance your website for smartphones and tablets. The best companies have knowledge of HTML, CSS, MAPs, responsive design, and other complicated concepts, allowing you to create mobile-optimized pages that visitors love. Although working with a partner requires an outlay, you can generate a return on this investment through improved conversions, sales, and brand awareness. Symphonic Digital can help you optimize your website! The company has the expertise and experience to improve your mobile optimization strategy and enhance user experiences on mobile devices. Click here to get started.