Five steps to better mobile searches

Erika Jones
Erika Jones

Mobile searches seem to be on everyone’s lips right now. We talk about it all the time in the office, and clients often ask what they can do to conduct successful mobile campaigns.  

A good mobile search strategy isn’t just an option for small businesses, it’s a must. With 95 percent of mobile users using their phones and other devices for local searches, the need for a hyper-local presence is greater than ever. 

Here are five steps businesses can take to make their mobile search campaigns more successful and take advantage of the millions of search queries conducted on mobile devices every day:

Establish a strong local presence. Claim your Google Places, Yelp and other review site accounts. Don’t wait for someone else to tell the search engines about your business. You might not like what they have to say.

Optimize your e-mail campaigns for mobile content. Don’t forget about those outgoing links, either. With 88 percent of consumers checking their e-mail on mobile devices, you want to make sure you can capture them when you have the chance.

Make you social media mobile. The proportion of people using their mobile devices to access social media is just plain astonishing: 91 percent of consumers use their mobile devices.  Think about that when you’re posting links to outgoing pages —is it mobile compatible? We’ve become pretty picky about what we share due to a poor mobile experience for our fans and followers. Great for our audience, but not so great for the people who have great content that just never gets seen because of a poor mobile experience.

Invest in mobile advertising. Understand that people will click on mobile ads if they’re relevant to what they’re searching for or looking at on a website. Be cautious, though. Remember that where people go from your mobile ad should be mobile optimized. I recently saw an advertiser on our local news media mobile site. When I clicked on the ad, I went to a non-mobile webpage. It was very, very, very frustrating — for me and the advertiser because they’re wasting money.

Develop a mobile content strategy. Yes, you need a content strategy. But you also need a mobile content strategy. How does your consumer use your website or search for you on a mobile device? Is it different than on a desktop? Probably, so your content should match what they’re searching for via a mobile device. A plumber, for example, doesn’t need to share every single tip, trick and information about why they’re so great on mobile devices. Think about it. When I get a call while I’m in an airport traveling that my pipes at home have busted, I’m going to Google “plumber in Grand Junction.” I need a site that comes up fast and prominently displays a phone number. The search description should tell me the plumber is available 24 hours a day and handles any size emergency.

In conclusion, search for your own business on a mobile device and experience what potential customers experience. Then decide whether or not there are steps you can take to improve that experience.