A recent survey of small business owners revealed some very worrying statistics: Many small businesses do not believe that mobile-friendly sites are a top priority, 23 per cent of existing business websites are not mobile-friendly and nine per cent of business owners had no idea if their site was mobile-friendly or not.
It cannot be stated clearly enough that in 2017 having a mobile-friendly site should be a top priority for all business owners. Here’s why:
1. Mobile-friendly websites rank higher in Google
The higher your website comes up in Google’s search rankings the more traffic you get and the more sales you can make. At minimum, you should aim to rank on the first page of all local searches for relevant keywords. Websites that can rank in the number one position receive one third of all web traffic for that keyword search, while the top three positions together receive over 62 per cent of all web traffic. Google has made it very clear that mobile-friendliness is a major factor affecting how they rank websites so your chances of coming up high in the search engine results page are very slim if you don’t have a mobile-friendly site.
2. Mobile offers a better user experience
Mobile-friendly websites offer the best user experience, allowing users to access information on the go and take action. Click-to-call phone numbers and driving app integration encourage users to contact you or visit your store which can only be good for business.
3. Majority of web traffic now comes from mobile devices
Sixty percent of all web traffic now occurs on mobile devices and this figure has increased significantly each of the past few years. Mobile is the way of the future and this figure is predicted to keep rising steadily. If you don’t currently have a mobile site this should be a top priority. The longer you leave it the bigger the advantage you are giving your competitors and the harder it may be for you to reclaim this gap later. Mobile users currently spend over seven hours a week browsing the internet on their devices and the number of smartphone users worldwide is predicted to be over two billion people by the end of 2016.
60% of web traffic is on mobile
4. Local searches on mobile have higher conversion rates
Studies show that local searches performed on mobile have higher conversion rates. Eighteen per cent of local searches performed on a smartphone lead to a sale within 24 hours, compared to only seven per cent of local searches performed on desktop devices. In addition, 50 per cent of mobile users who perform a local search will visit the store in person within 24 hours.
5. Mobile users buy more
According to Thanksgiving sales figures in the United States, mobile users also spend more than desktop users, with a 57 per cent market share. This research study’s findings have also been replicated by another study conducted by IBM.
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