Did you know that 70% of mobile searches lead to that person taking action within an hour?
That action could be a customer calling through to your customer service team, making an online enquiry, visiting your bricks-and-mortar shop, relocating to a desktop PC to finish their transaction, or - if the procedure is simple enough - making a purchase, signing up to your newsletter, or downloading your ebook right there and then.
We Are Social conduct a study into the digital landscape every year.
This year's study shows that the percentage of total page views that take place on mobile phones is increasing year on year:
This is why devising a mobile strategy for your paid search adverts is more important now than it has ever been before.
The landline is a thing of the past. Mobile devices now dominate the communication world, and we're not just talking about making phone calls and texting - we're talking about social media, emails, free messaging services, and much more besides. But young people today aren't just communicating with friends and family members via their mobiles; they're also communicating with businesses like yours. Perhaps they're conducting a search to find out where your shop is, maybe they're passing time on their daily commute with a spot of online shopping. Whatever they are looking for, it's important that you and your business are visible in the right places at the right times.
It is no secret that people - including your customers - are conducting more and more searches using portable devices such as smartphones and tablets. We have been told this on a daily basis by Google, other search engines, and SEM influencers since the age of the smartphone began.
Google reportedly processes more than 3.5 billion searches every day. Last year, the search giant announced that over half of those searches happen on a mobile device. This is just one example of why mobile marketing is a must for any modern business.
How can Designer Websites help with your mobile ad campaigns?
Here at Designer Websites, we have a team of experience
PPC specialists who can help your business to get the best possible return from Google AdWords and other pay per click platforms. Before we optimise your paid search campaigns for mobile devices, we will develop a detailed, mobile-specific strategy that's tailored to your business and the market you operate within. This strategy will take the following factors into consideration:
- How your customers are searching on mobile devices
- What their situation and intentions are in that moment
- What type of marketing message they are most likely to respond to
Getting results for your business
Below is a graph showing one clients' conversion performance after we implemented a mobile-specific advertising strategy for them.
We can clearly see that, while this company's mobile conversions were always higher than tablet and desktop conversions, their mobile conversions grew significantly after we implemented a comprehensive mobile strategy. Furthermore, this business's mobile conversions are continuing to grow even now, with each month surpassing the previous month's total.
So how can you reap the benefits of mobile marketing using paid search? Here are four tips from the mobile search experts here at Designer Websites:
1. Create mobile-specific adverts
The adverts that you see when browsing the internet on your phone are formatted differently to the adverts you see on your desktop PC. In order to ensure that your adverts look great on the small screen, it is vital to create adverts that are formatted correctly.
Creating mobile-specific adverts not only helps with the formatting of the advert, it also helps with the performance of the adverts as a whole. Generally, mobile-specific adverts have a higher click-through rate (CTR) and a higher conversion rate than non-mobile-specific adverts shown in a mobile search.
2. Create relatable ad copy
Creating ad copy that is relevant to your customer's current situation is key. Consider this example:
A potential customer is enjoying a cup of tea and a slice of cake whilst out shopping. She suddenly remembers that she wanted to find some luxury curtains for the living room, and so she reaches into her bag, pulls out her mobile, and types (or speaks) 'luxury curtains Cardiff' into her Google app.
As luck would have it, you run a fabric store just around the corner from that tea shop. However, since your ad copy doesn't state your location or feature a call to action such as "Come visit our Cardiff store", it is likely that this particular lady will just scroll past your advert.
The same goes for online stores: you cannot guide customers to your shop because you don’t have one, but you can point out to them just how easy it is to buy from your site using their mobile phone. Possible calls to action could include "Buy direct from your mobile" or "Easy purchase from your mobile device".
People will be able to relate to these adverts because they are addressing their situation at that time. This leads to a higher click through rate and a higher conversion rate.
In the graph above, we can see that - after implementing more relevant ad copy - this client saw an increase of nearly 3% in their mobile CTR.
3. Create mobile ad extensions
Mobile ad extensions are exactly the same as desktop ad extensions, but they conform to mobile formatting, making them better-looking and easier on the eye. They also provide customers with vital information when they search for your product or service using a mobile device.
It is said that roughly 1 in 3 searches are conducted because the user wants local information. It is vital that you provide this information to them, and this is why location extensions are a must. Not only do location extensions provide users with the ability to search for your business on Google Maps and use a sat nav to find your location, they also provide additional info such as opening times.
Call extensions are another must-have for any mobile advert. The call extension gives searchers the ability to call your store or your customer service desk directly from the search results page.
4. Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly
We're always amazed by the number of mobile adverts we encounter that don't direct users through to a mobile-optimised website. We're always saying that it's crucial in this day and age to have a
responsive website, and that truth is getting harder and harder to ignore as mobile users increase.
If your mobile ads are to be successful, your business will need to provide a website experience that is fully optimised for mobile users. The key to mobile advertising success is to make the whole experience as seamless as possible, and this means that your website has to render quickly and correctly on every mobile device.
Not sure if your website and its paid search campaign are optimised for mobile users? Contact us for advice, or follow us on Twitter for more SEM and web design news!
