With the advance of not only Internet-capable mobile devices, but Internet-friendly mobile devices, mobile search marketing must be considered in any marketing plan. Let’s consider mobile search marketing in two sections:
1. Advertising delivered via mobile means (text messages, Adsense for Mobile)
2. Mobile-friendly site-design (fast page load times, easy navigation, mobile-specific features)
Section one can be considered as a new section paid-advertising. Mobile ad spend is expected to increase 81.2% over the next five years with local search seeing much of that increase. As you consider mobile advertising, take into consideration the following points:
· is part of your site locally-focused? If not, how can you make it local?
· is your product/service/information page relative to a mobile user? For example, a department-specific college Web page is likely not a top mobile viewed page. A list of late-night taxi services for that college town on the same Web site may bring more relevance to many mobile users.
The second section of mobile search marketing is applicable to anyone with a website, much like SEO. If the amount of mobile ad spend is increasing dramatically, it’s a safe bet that mobile Internet users are also increasing. As Internet-friendly phones evolve, people will be spending more time browsing the Internet via their phones.
Why do you care about mobile marketing?
Your site must be capable to being mobile-friendly. Great…but again, what does that mean for you?
· site pages must load quickly (use limited/small graphics)
· site pages must be easy to navigate with mobile-device commands (check out http://www.opera.com/mini/demo/ to try it yourself!)
· create a section of your site especially for mobile users (games, local info, top news stories, etc)
Creating a mobile-friendly site or page design can be accomplished with minimal time and budget (dependent upon scope) by using CSS. Creating a special mobile section— well get brainstorming and discuss some ideas with your SEM team!
