Even if your site performs like a dream on a desktop, your efforts can lead to less than ideal engagement if it’s not mobile-friendly. More of us than ever are shopping, reading, and interacting primarily from our mobile devices in lieu of our stationary screens: Google says that a massive 75 percent of all web traffic now comes from mobile use. Which makes sense, considering that 77 percent of Americans now own a smartphone — up from just 35 percent all the way back in 2011.

That’s why looking back through our data in 2017 shows us that now — more than ever — is the time to get seriously savvy about our clients’ mobile sites. Last year alone, mobile accounted for 41 percent of our clients’ total yearly paid media spend and 74 percent of their online conversions. Comparatively, desktop paid media spend was over 50 percent of total spend and carried a 10 percent conversion rate. The numbers are in: It’s time to shift your paid media spend where it counts.

So what makes for a successful mobile site? One of the first items to tackle in your mobile checklist is speed. Google experts say a load time of four seconds or less is necessary to keep users engaged. In fact, the Google Mobile Speed Assistance Team tells us that for every single second decrease in mobile page load time, a 3.5 percent point increase in conversion rate occurs. So if you’re wondering whether shaving a few moments off your load time will actually make a big difference, it will.

Helpful tactics to boost mobile loading speeds include optimizing images, enabling browser caching, and limiting redirects. Mobile optimization is also about repositioning your SEO strategies for mobile users in keeping with Google’s decision to adopt mobile-first indexing. This means that the responsiveness and ease of user experience of your site has a direct impact on your rankings.  

To find out what actions you should consider taking to optimize your mobile traffic and conversions, ask your Account Team to set up time with the Google Mobile Speed Assistance Team.

Searchlogic offers services for landing page design and testing, mobile audits with Google team, and can work with you and your developers to ensure your website is optimized for mobile.