With over 4 billion people accessing the Internet, the mobile Web interface is now a critical channel for lead generation in a world of smart portable devices
There’s no doubt the mobile app revolution changed people’s perception of what’s possible with a portable computing device. Native apps are now a must-have conduit to smart device empowered audiences everywhere. But what about the mobile Web? Should marketers target this interface as a way to reach buyers? The answer is a resounding yes and here’s why.
It’s hard to beat ubiquity
Web browsers have a distinct advantage over other marketing channels in that they are everywhere. From a smart TV to a smart watch, humble HTML can be displayed in a consistent (if not fancy) way.
According to Statista, the number of mobile users worldwide is forecast to grow to 7.26 billion in 2023. As of February 2019, mobile devices accounted for 48% of web page views globally.
When smartphones first appeared their mobile Web experience was rudimentary at best, but nowadays all the main desktop browsers – Firefox, Chrome, Safari and IE – have mobile app counterparts making the cross-platform experience much more consistent. Moreover, the advancement of mobile Web and broadband technologies has brought everything from JavaScript controls to video playback into the palms of our hands.
As W3C Director Tim Berners-Lee said: “Today we think nothing of watching video and audio natively in the browser, and nothing of running a browser on a phone.”
“We expect to be able to share photos, shop, read the news, and look up information anywhere, on any device. Though they remain invisible to most users, HTML5 and the Open Web Platform are driving these growing user expectations.”
We’re on track for the quality of the mobile Web experience to rival that of today’s desktop Web browsers and marketers must prepare to better serve this growing audience.
Mobile Web means mobile marketing
Apps are great for marketing, but so is the mobile web and people do appreciate the option of not being forced to use an app to interact with your organisation. Take Facebook’s previous move to stop supporting messages via its mobile Web interface in order to push people onto its Messenger app. The decision was derided by many who were quite happy to chat via a mobile browser.
Let’s consider why it’s worthwhile investing in a quality mobile web experience for your site.
- Generate more leads. According to the HubSpot eBook, How to Generate Leads with Mobile Marketing, one of the top six tactics to generate more leads is to optimise the content for a mobile screen. Quick tip: mobile Web phone numbers should support click-to-call.
- It will affect your rankings. The search engines look at hundreds of factors to determine SEO rankings, including mobile page speed, time on site and bounce rate - all factors that are influenced by whether your website is mobile-friendly.
- A poor mobile web experience can tarnish your brand. 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.
The good news for marketing managers is support for mobile web interfaces by enterprise content systems is now better than ever. Responsive design is part of the Web developer’s tool box so investigate the options for making what you have more mobile-friendly.