Why Marketers Need to Rethink Their Brand’s Mobile Presence

In a world where technology is becoming more mobile by the nanosecond, it should come as no surprise that the majority of search traffic now runs through mobile devices. In fact, research from BrightEdge shows that 57 percent of search traffic is now mobile. According to eMarketer, over eight in 10 internet users will use a smartphone to access the web regularly in 2017.

What may be surprising, however, is that search results differ depending on what kind of device is being used. For example, our research shows that the same search on the same search engine ranked differently on mobile and desktop devices 79 percent of the time. Additionally, our findings reflect that the first search engine result page (SERP) resulting from the same search is different on mobile and desktop 35 percent of the time. This means that two separate search indexes — one for desktop and one for mobile — have clearly emerged. In the wake of these findings, marketers must prepare specific approaches to how they market their content on each platform.

“Marketers need to think of their mobile presence as a completely different experience rather than an extension of their desktop site,” said Erik Newton, vice president of marketing and head of SEO at BrightEdge.

Research shows that consumers demand easy-to-use mobile sites, as 69 percent of smartphone users are more likely to buy from companies with mobile sites that easily address their questions or concerns.

There are a number of things that marketers can and should do to optimize their brand in a world where mobile dominates. They must be acutely aware of their brand’s mobile and desktop demand and ought to be able to differentiate between the two. This information should be continuously tracked, compared and reported to all necessary teams. Marketers should be tracking the organic search rank for their mobile and desktop sites separately.

Finally, marketers must prioritize speed, mobile-friendliness and responsiveness when it comes to the design and optimization of their websites. This cannot be overstated and is applicable for all businesses.

In addition, marketers need to improve their understanding and recognition of different online consumer intent signals across desktop and mobile devices. According to Newton, “three elements key to the understanding of consumer intent are awareness, discovery and purchase.”

In terms of content, one size does not fit all. Marketers need to create content catered specifically to mobile and desktop platforms that uniquely resonates with consumers. Finally, mobile content must be optimized with the goal of improving conversions if marketers want to remain relevant in a world where more and more web searches are conducted on the go.

Kevin Bobowski is the senior vice president of marketing at BrightEdge, a SEO and content performance marketing platform.