We live in a world where mobile and tablet usage exceeds that of desktops. Mobile has assisted in the massive adaption of the internet, social networks, digital communication and eCommerce. From a business perspective, user interaction has changed dramatically. Gone are the days when customers had to queue and wait for their turn to get service.
The average consumer now owns 3.8 connected devices, and typically uses digital channels round the clock, 365 days a year. The size of the mobile commerce market will be $463B worldwide by 2019. Ignoring opportunities arising from mobile channels can seriously impact your revenue and bottom-line. Your website is your primary ecommerce and branding asset. It acts as your brand ambassador and your digital sales department.
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Start with an Audit
Most people use mobile phones to search information which means that mobile pages generate a higher numbers of page views. Your goal should be to understand whether your mobile website is being indexed on search. Of course, this assumes that you have a mobile website. Secondly, if your site turns out to be slow, users may bounce and abandon your website even before the page loads. Mobile networks and mobile data connections can be unreliable, and you must ensure that your website is optimized for mobile, to attract and retain the customer.
Google provides a library of tools which help you to discover any issues with your desktop and mobile website. The mobile-friendly testing tool and google search console provide in-depth insights to identify issues on a page by page level. To test whether your website is mobile friendly, simply type in the URL of the web page that you want to check. Results typically take less than a minute and include a screengrab with a detailed report of major mobile usability areas of concern.
Another great resource provided by Google is the page speed insights tool which allows you to measure the performance of a page by fetching the URL twice, once for mobile and once for desktop devices. It gives you a benchmarked score alongside highlighted parameters that impact user experience such as image and content optimization opportunities, browser caching, minifying html and java scripts. By simply implementing the recommendations given to you by google you can significantly improve your chances of driving higher conversions.
