Mobile traffic is growing at an alarming rate, but even more alarming might be what a Google Mobile Movement Study mentioned, stating that "88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours." This statement alone should highlight the importance of being found via mobile devices.
In order to further emphasize how quickly the mobile market is growing and why it is so important to be in a position to take advantage of the growth, let's quickly go over three of the points that are illustrated in the infographic below.
#1) 7 out of 10 mobile users interact with their devices in the store while they are shopping
This is a golden opportunity to get creative and capitalize on the fact that there are consumers present that are A) interested in the products or services of the establishment that they are in, and B) connected to their social media accounts through the smartphones that they are glued to.
Everyone loves social media and most consumers jump at the opportunity to "Like" a Facebook page or "Follow" a Twitter profile, especially if they belong to a brand or company that they enjoy or have an interest in. Making sure that social media profiles and handles are visible in a creative way can result in nice natural growth. This grows the number of laser targeted active consumers this business can now market directly to in a very non-intrusive way.
#2) Half of mobile users use a local search/map to find businesses
Just like with traditional SEO, local SEO has one goal: to get to the top of the search results. In this case the business wants to rank on top for local geographic terms related to the products and or services that their business provides.
Mobile phones, mobile internet, and mobile search are all based around convenience. The typical consumer performing a mobile search isn't going to scroll down through pages of results. They are going to make their inquiry and then quickly make a decision.
#3) Almost 8 out of every 10 mobile users have used their devices for shopping related activities
Again, it comes down to convenience. Before the smartphones that we enjoy today "mobile internet" was slow and provided a horrible user experience. Now many consumers have devices that browse just as fast as their big bulky home PC.
Mobile devices equipped with fast internet speeds make it simple to search whether sitting on the couch and relaxing or on a retail shopping spree. There are no limitations and consumers love that aspect of their smartphones.
Take a look at the infographic below and learn why mobile needs to be a major focus for every online marketing strategy.