It’s the question on the mind of many mobile marketers: mobile web vs. mobile apps. Do we invest in making our site adapt to the device parameters of any user coming to the site? Or is a native app (iOS, Android, Windows) the only way to have meaningful and effective engagements with our customers and prospects? As powerful as native apps can be, the baseline for discovery is still search.
So when Google, last week, let it be known that it’s going to be sending alerts to websites that don’t meet its mobile-friendly criteria, mobile marketers need to pay attention. This friendly update precedes the planned implementation of new search algorithms that will favor mobile-optimized or “mobile friendly” sites in its search results.
If you haven’t made a move towards either mobile-adaptation or responsive design approaches to your website — and i know there are still some of you out there — in this era of mobile device usage, Google’s move definitely qualifies as the “wake-up call.”
For some time, colleagues and I have noted that a mobile-adapted or responsive approach is increasingly table-stakes as mobile device traffic to websites increases. From a marketer’s perspective, those searches are important engagement opportunities. If you think first impressions matter, what to do if you haven’t made sure your site is at least minimally accessible to mobile devices users — to my mind meaning they can be moved along the purchase path or next moment of engagement including downloading an app or to opt-in to receive mobile messages?
Looks like Google’s move should be the incentive mobile-market laggards need.
The post Nice Site You Have There — Maybe You Should Make it Mobile Friendly? Just sayin’ . . . appeared first on Mike McGuire.