Your Analytics Holds The Key
Today, I looked at one of my sites...
Finding #1: 37% of the visitors came on a mobile device.
Finding #2: Average time spent on site, overall was 1 minute and 17 seconds.
Finding #3: Average time spent on site if they used a mobile device: 0 minutes and 0 seconds (Some probably stayed longer, but I don't have it set up to track unless they visit another page... don't really see the need, this being an adsense site, formerly a testing site).
Finding #4: Average bounce rate, overall: 80 some percent.
Finding #5: Bounce rate if they used mobile devices: 100%.
Conclusion, I'm losing a lot of clicks, money.
Solution #1: install a script that will narrow the site... (It's not worth my time to make a real mobile optimized version).
Visited the analytics account for a mortgage site I run. 7% of traffic comes via mobile devices. Bounce rate, on average is 52%, for mobile is 97 and change. The latter spend a hell of a lot less time on the site compared to the former (8 seconds vs 1 minute and 54 seconds). One in 37 visitors contacts the mortgage company.
Visited the analytics account for an insurance site I control. 17% come via mobile devices. Bounce rate, overall is 45.4%, for the ones, 89 and change for the ones from mobile devices. Average time on site mobile and desk top visitors? 2 minutes and 14 seconds. For mobile devices only? 17 seconds. One in 27 contacts the insurance agent's people.
Big idea:
Talk to existing clients and prospects about their analytics.... Many don't even know what it is but you can use examples from other sites you know about, offer to install analytics for them and teach them how to use it, for just $1... or for free... (rolled into the fee they'll pay in a month, after they'll look at the results and hire you to do other things).
Anyway, you walk them through their analytics, show them side by side images of websites with and without optimized version... or have them visit a couple on their smartphone... and you make it darn hard for them not to say, When can you make me one of them?
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Mobil is climbing, the problem I have is load speed on my device. By the time I get to the first page of something, I want to be somewhere else. If the site isn't optimized for the device it can be frustrating to zoom in so that you can see it.
I'm sure as time progresses things will get better but for now, instant gratification isn't found on my small device.
visit www.1chicagomortgagerates.com or www.morecareathome.com. You'll get instant gratification.
I am a big fan of analytics as it can reveal some awesome info about your (potential) clients' behavior..
In terms of showing clients this stuff:
I find if you take the graphs (aka PDF exports) and throw them in a power point for a presentation, then tend to listen more and understand more.
It's weird, because show them the same data while logged into Ganalytics, and they'll look like deer in headlights.. lol
Empower them with a fancy pants power point presentation and you're golden.. :)
No, I didn't mean, show it to them while in analytics (unless you have the time to train them before hand). I take screen shots with jing, draw a couple of arrows, highlight here and there, write a couple of thoughts and show them like that.
I once did do it the other way, open a guy's analytics in front of him, to point out how many people had visited a squeeze page... He just didn't see it... couldn't.... there were too many things that looked the same to him. It was a very interesting, yet highly unproductive, exercise.
Mobile really isn't effective for many marketing campaigns and I know first hand that when people are on their phones they are rarely engaged. Until payment becomes simplified through the phone (iWallet) mobile advertising is going to be a confusingly fragmented and over utilized marketing platform (unless you are promoting an app).
Analytics is great for revealing things like this, just be careful not to spend too much time in there as data can become addicting!
This is really very interesting stuff, guys. I'm intrigued with it. Kyle, I'm not familiar with accessing the internet over a phone-type devices, but it sounds like payment options are either lacking, or are cumbersome to do. What DABK describes, high and almost immediate bounce rates on small devices, may suggest display problems. Because it's an extra step, I'm sure a lot of site webmasters don't optimize for these small devices, even though they're becoming an ever larger segment of those accessing the internet..
In a CSS text book that I've recently read, there was a chapter on creating specific .css files, which will load when a small device is detected. This CSS file will augment, or suspercede the original .css file to control and display the HTML optimally for the smaller screens.
Do you guys know if its possible to create 'Media Style Sheets' for Wordpress? I'll bet there is. I just haven't played with it yet.
-John
You have to figure what people on mobile want, and give it to them in a way that shows nicely on mobile. Using a plugin that shrinks wordpress works sometimes, but not usually... Searchers on mobile don't browse. They have one or two simple questions in mind and want the answer to just those.... In case of a mortgage company... They want the rates and how to contact. Or, if they're looking into HARP loans, they want to know the company does them and how to get in touch with someone to take it further.
You give them, on the HARP loans, We do HARPS. HARPs are great. Why? Because you can borrow more than you own on the home. Rates are x% and the loan costs 2%.
Tap here to call us.
Tap here to have us call you.
Address and map.
Below, you can add some more info, including legal stuff. And you give them the choice to go to the main site, just in case they want reassurance.
As regards getting lost in the data, I know about it. It's true. I usually do it when I do keyword research... often end up researching long after I get a dozen viable ones... You know, for the future.
Local biz, definitely a lot of applications and uses for mobile traffic. I always use my phone to find local businesses, so yeah there is definitely potential there (and to have a mobile ready local site if you are a local business).
I was taking the position more from a niche marketing angle in that a niche site will realize much more value still with PC users than someone on mobile. Mobile is only going to get better and more powerful as we move forward and I think a couple years from now we will be having a completely different conversation.
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Go to Jays video, he explains bounce rate very clearly.