Why Every Business Must Have a Mobile-Friendly Website

Nowadays, people everywhere are increasingly accessing the internet on many different devices. No longer is it safe to say that someone who visits your website will always be using a desktop or a laptop. There is a pretty good chance that users will be using a tablet or a mobile phone. If you don’t have a mobile friendly website yet and you’re not a bit worried about it, then you’re making a huge mistake. But it’s not just about having a website on mobile devices. With more and more visitors getting access on mobile devices, it’s important to make sure that all your visitors have a great user experience, regardless of what type of device they’re using. If your website pages take too long to load or are not accessible to use on a mobile device, then they may have already moved along to your competitor.

Having a website that looks and works well only on a desktop computer isn’t good enough to be noticed anymore. In this guide, we’ll touch on several key points you need to know for your website to reach top performance with mobile devices.

You’ll Lose Business if You Don’t

You’ve probably already noticed a slight decrease in sales for your business if you still only use a standard website that only operates on desktops. You should clearly go mobile friendly before anything bad happens to your business, or worse, you might lose it along the way. Most companies aren’t yet considering going mobile friendly, but an increasing number are already using it. Provide your customers what they want with a mobile-friendly website that has easy navigation, fast loading pages with great content and images. Grab hold of the opportunity of the growing number of customers who use mobile devices to shop. If your website is not applicable for mobile devices or you just simply don’t have a mobile-friendly option for the consumers, then you may see a drop in your rankings, and that’s not good for business.

Google May Penalize You If Your Business Isn’t Mobile-Friendly

It’s true that Google may penalize you if you don’t have a mobile friendly website. Google recognizes that the need for mobile-friendly websites is necessary. Many websites, however, still use images, content and navigation structures that just don’t work well when used on mobile devices. Most of the time, users can only see websites correctly using a desktop or a laptop, and mobile users end up with having a very unsatisfying user experience. If a particular website isn’t mobile friendly at all, Google will recognize that and will not likely display it as a legitimate search result. Google won’t be doing its job if all of the results that are displayed on search engines are useful to mobile users. Google has a goal to increase search traffic, that also includes mobile search traffic, and you can use that to your benefit by creating a great mobile experience for your visitors. Keep Google happy, and you won’t risk disappearing from the search results.

It’s What Your Customers Expect You to Have

Let’s face it. Customers are not always sitting in front of their desktops or laptops to search for something. People are always on the go, and they’re able to access your website from their mobile devices. If you don’t give customers easy visibility and navigation of your website, then they’ll probably go to your competitor. Don’t just tweak your existing website and try to make it as accessible to users as possible.  Websites that are made for desktops don’t usually display well on mobile devices. Compared to desktops, mobile phones have smaller screens and will often distort images and other visuals. Get your mobile friendly website down to just the essential features, with the content and images displayed neatly and appealingly. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should completely ignore customers who still use desktops and laptops. They still create a significant portion of your client base and sales.

Google Has Different Search Indexes for Mobile and Desktop

When it comes to creating decisions for your business, you should always know the facts before you make any changes or massive investments. Google is now working on having two separate search indexes, one for desktop search and one for mobile search. This means that Google is now actively testing the two different search indexes with the various keywords from different locations around the world. Google always does this before they give out another new massive update. So, what does this mean for your business?  Well, it means that your website had better be mobile-friendly if you really want to appear in the search results today and in the following years to come. What you can do is search for a particular keyword in your area, one on your desktop or laptop computer and then you can do the same keyword search on your mobile phones.

Mobile Users Are Action-Oriented

Since mobile devices can be used while on the go, you can certainly get a lot of value when you have a mobile-friendly website. But in addition to that, it is essential to have a mobile-friendly website that provides the primary goals that a lot of mobile users need when searching a product or service online, such as making a reservation, seeking directions, or requests for a quote. People usually search online using mobile devices where they want to be able to get all of the necessary information about your business before they ever have contact with you. Mobile-friendly websites aren’t just about a great visual experience, but it’s also about understanding what your consumers need throughout the whole sales process. With the ability to quickly find directions to your business, call you right away, click to buy, menu displays, etc. all will eventually lead to a significant interaction with your business.

Consumers Search for Local Businesses

We live in a fast-paced world. Everyone in the family from the children to the parents now has mobile devices in their hands. That’s why people expect to be connected via these devices. When they have questions and need answers fast, the first place they usually turn to is their mobile devices. Most of the time, these consumers are looking to buy products and services, specifically within their local area. It is important for businesses to be listed correctly online and to have that online presence cater to a lot of mobile users. If your company does not show up on the first page of search results for keywords related to your business, then you are again missing out on a lot of potential customers. If a consumer is located within your area, searching for a product or service that you offer, the goal is to have your website and contact information come up in the search engine immediately.

More Searches Done on Mobile Devices than on Desktops

More Google searches take place on mobile devices compared to those on computers in some countries. That means your website should be catering to mobile device users. Mobile-friendly websites should no longer be a small part of any business strategy. It should be a necessity to have. According to a study conducted by Google, it showed that consumers spend 15 hours a week on their mobile phones doing research. During that time, they visit a particular website about six times before even making a purchase. So, it’s safe to say that number, and those statistics have risen since technology has evolved quite rapidly. When you consider your website to go mobile-friendly, it can necessarily put your business on the top of the online competition.