More than half of all internet traffic is now mobile. With the new mobile trend, it’s more important than ever to ensure your online presence is mobile-friendly. As the adage goes, “Follow the customer, if they change — we change.”

The growth of mobile usage has had important implications for every business. If your marketing strategy doesn’t include a mobile optimized presence, and your competitors does, you might be losing customers.  And often ignored portion of a marketing strategy is, sadly, the website.  An outdated website not only performs poorly for visitors, it also ranks poorly in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).  Even if your domains’ age keeps you near the top, the experience your visitors have can turn them off to inquiring more about you.

Mobile First!

Googles new “mobile-first” index prioritizes responsive websites.

“To make our results more useful, we’ve begun experiments to make our index mobile-first. Although our search index will continue to be a single index of websites and apps, our algorithms will eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages”

– Doantam Phan, Google Product Manager

Source: https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/11/mobile-first-indexing.html

A mobile-first, responsive approach to web design is the key. Ensuring your visitors always get a great experience regardless of device creates a sense of consistency and reliability – and that is reflected in your corporate image.  Desktop, Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone, landscape or portrait – all view screens should display your content in an easily consumable format.

“A website is never done”

If your website is several years old, not only is it likely not mobile responsive, it could also contain security vulnerabilities. Outdated software could leave your site open to hackers or reveal client information you would not want available to the public.  Redesigning your website, with a mobile-first approach could resolve both issues, giving you the latest software, plugins, core files – and net you higher SERP positions.  The website design method has changed drastically in the last 2 years alone, a website older than that is likely in need an overhaul to keep up with not only visual trends, but functionality as well.

Modernity

Your brand is your business, and your business is your livelihood. Your online presence is a reflection of your business, and having the latest technology – and displaying that technology as the face of your business will only increase the trust value you create in your brand. If a user visits your site on a mobile device, and it’s not mobile-friendly – that displays a lack of attention to detail that may be transferred onto their opinion of the products or services you offer.

What was once a great novelty, is now necessity. Your customers are using their devices, and it’s vitally important you represent yourself well when they do.

Consider these Statistics for Mobile Usage

• Over 125 Million consumers own smartphones
• Over 50 million consumers own tablets
• 62% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile
• E-commerce now comprises 10% of all retail sales
• 80% of shoppers used mobile devices to look up product reviews, compare prices and find alternative store locations

If you are interested in having your website evaluated for mobile-friendliness, please reach out to us for a free, no obligation consultation. We can ensure you have a proper mobile presence, developed to adapt to users screen size, with tap-to-call phone numbers, integrated maps, scalable content, easily navigable menu systems – and a visual appeal that will reflect the scale and nature of your business.