Over the last decade, mobile phones have accounted for a growing share of worldwide online traffic. As of August 2022, mobile phones accounted for 59.4 percent of all online traffic.
If we go back a decade to 2012, this percentage was a paltry 10.88 percent. Fast forward to 2017, and the share of online traffic on mobile has surged fivefold to 54.09 percent.
The fastest growth rate occurred in the first few years of the last decade and has subsequently decreased dramatically. When comparing the percentage of online traffic on mobile from 2012 to 2017, the average year-over-year growth rate was 46%, compared to 5% from 2017 to 2022.
Over the last ten years, the distribution of mobile vs. desktop internet usage in the United States has followed a similar path, with the share of online traffic on mobile increasing as well. Despite this growth, mobile devices still need to establish themselves as the preferred surfing alternative.
As of August 2022, mobile devices accounted for 53.74 percent of total online access, while desktop computers accounted for 46.26 percent.
What does this mean? Businesses will have to bend to the masses. The masses are using mobile devices, whether learning about a company for the first time or loyal customers looking for loyalty programs. A business’s content must be easily readable, from text to videos.
What is mobile-optimized content?
The powers behind SEO define optimization as changing the contents of your site, social media, ads, and so on to increase your site’s search engine results pages (SERP) ranks. Mobile optimization is modifying your website’s content so that visitors using mobile devices receive an experience tailored to their device.
Optimized information smoothly flows across desktop and mobile devices to create an exceptional user experience. Mobile devices have tiny screens, and their users are frequently on the move. They may be traveling by rail or bus, or they could be in a coffee shop or a store. Content that has been optimized understands the mobile user.
It readily adapts to smaller displays. It changes the text size, making it easy to read on a small screen. Email communications should load fast and contain only a few graphics. Businesses should show videos suitable for mobile devices.
Mobile Friendly vs. Mobile Optimized vs. Responsive Design
Google increasingly emphasizes and rewards mobile-friendly websites in its search rankings. Many individuals believe that having a mobile-friendly website is sufficient, and it is for Google’s robots.
However, this is not always sufficient for the visitors to your website. In a nutshell, mobile-friendliness is the minimum mobile design strategy you should employ for your mobile visitors.
If you need help determining if your website is mobile-friendly, use Google’s webmaster tool to find out. A mobile-friendly website is sometimes merely a scaled-down replica of a desktop website.
As a general guideline, your material should be written in a font size of 14 or 16 points. It might seem large, but anything smaller will be challenging to read.
Mobile-friendly websites will function for mobile users, although they were developed for desktop users. A smaller version of your desktop website can be functional, but it may need to be more user-friendly. This point is where mobile optimization enters the picture.
Not all mobile-friendly websites are mobile-optimized. Mobile-optimized websites cater to mobile users intended for smaller displays.
A mobile-optimized website will automatically reformat for mobile visitors. It is not simply a scaled-down duplicate of the desktop website.
A mobile-optimized website’s design elements may include the following:
● Layout with a single column
● Easy, straightforward navigation that is "thumb friendly."
● Larger images with white-space borders are ideal for those with large or clumsy fingers.
● The content has been formatted for the best reading.
● There is little to no requirement for typing.
● Image file sizes for the mobile version of the website are less than those for the desktop version. (This enables faster loading times.)
● Overall, there are fewer features (minimalist, uncluttered design)
Mobile users are considerably more likely to look for a rapid solution than desktop searchers.
The purpose of a mobile-optimized website is to make the website as frictionless for the mobile user as feasible. Mobile customers want the quickest, most efficient solution to their inquiries. That is what mobile optimization strives to achieve.
In some ways, responsive design continues where mobile optimization leaves off. Websites that are responsively developed perform precisely what the term implies. They "react" to the size of the device’s screen.
Mobile optimization only applies to mobile devices. Responsive design restructures and reformats websites to work on any device, regardless of screen size. The website’s layout will scale from the smaller screens of mobile phones, tablets, and tiny laptops to the standard desktop screen and even bigger widescreen monitors using responsive design.
Responsive design provides people with flexibility and high usability across all devices. It’s the only method to ensure that your website looks excellent and functions appropriately on any device.
Why is mobile-optimized content important?
Responsive design contributes to your website’s mobile SEO. This result is more expensive to create, but it assures that every website component is mobile-optimized. This process will bring significant long-term advantages. A mobile-friendly website has the following benefits:
Enhance your user experience
The user experience is critical. Visitors will leave if you do not deliver a pleasant user experience, and they will not return. The mobile experience differs significantly from the PC experience. Visitors must be able to view your web pages without having to zoom in and navigate your site on a smaller screen. Users frequently need help viewing or navigating web pages on mobile devices without mobile optimization.
Increase the website’s speed
Your website should load quickly when it is optimized to meet mobile requirements. Websites that aren’t mobile-friendly frequently take a long time to load, especially if they utilize Flash features.
Mobile customers will only spend time on your site if your pages load within a few seconds. By increasing the speed of your site, you increase the likelihood of people staying on your site for extended periods.
Boost user engagement
A mobile-friendly website enhances the probability of your visitors connecting with you because visitors will spend more time searching through the material on your site. They will also be able to connect with your site by liking content, clicking on CTAs, or even leaving comments.
Increase the average time spent on the site
When you give mobile consumers a pleasant user experience, they spend more time on your website. The longer people stay on your site, the more probable they will convert or return later.
Boost your mobile SEO
A few years ago, your mobile SEO had no bearing on your conventional SEO. However, due to the increasing number of mobile users, Google has begun incorporating a website mobile SEO into its standard SEO. This action implies that you need a mobile-friendly website to maintain your SEO.
Increase the number of local customers
Local SEO relies heavily on mobile SEO. Many consumers may search while on the go when seeking a particular business. These individuals want to buy something. They are more likely to drop in and purchase if they are close to your physical location and find your website while performing a smartphone search. Poor mobile SEO will inevitably lead to poor local SEO, reducing your capacity to acquire local clients.
Mobile Optimization Can Help Your Business Grow
Given how many people use mobile devices to do searches and browse online, we can’t over-emphasize the value of a mobile-friendly website. You risk losing a significant portion of your target audience if you do not optimize your website design for mobile use.
Where does mobile optimization fit in the customer journey?
In short, you should optimize your content and web presence for mobile at every step of the customer journey.
The first step to reaching travelers at the awareness stage is to ensure that your website works like clockwork. The key aspects to focus on are speed, ease of use, and compelling content.
Your website should be speedy enough to load quickly in three seconds, even over slower mobile connections. One practical tip to achieve this is to make sure the dimensions of images of your property are no bigger than how they’re displayed on your website. Also, ensure that files are correctly compressed for optimal quality and size.
Remember that mobile visitors navigate your hotel website on a small screen with their fingers. An easy-to-use website has large, finger-friendly click targets, such as buttons, links, and form fields.
Additionally, make often-accessed information, such as your telephone number and address, as easy to find on the mobile version as possible.
How to Optimize your Mobile Video
Mobile video accounts for more than 75% of all video views worldwide. Many potential
prospects will have first experienced your brand on their phone, most likely while doing something else. Mobile viewing of anything from micro-content to long-form documentaries is increasing, and paired viewing (watching video on desktop and mobile devices simultaneously) has become the standard.
It has never been more crucial to generate mobile video or enhance current video for mobile watching on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Before we examine the 11 simple strategies to make a great mobile video, let’s examine why mobile video is more crucial than ever.
For years, experts have predicted the rise of mobile video.
The most convincing statistics come from YouTube, the world’s largest online video source.
According to YouTube, mobile devices account for more than 70% of all viewing time. That’s a lot of viewers, especially given YouTube has over 2 billion users.
The internet is now available on mobile devices. Are you prepared?
Mobile video for B2B
Mobile video is an essential component of the B2B purchasing process. We’re witnessing a significant surge in the use of video in the B2B purchasing process—from 29% of B2B buyers just two years ago to 70% of B2B buyers now. In summary, decision-makers are viewing videos and doing so on mobile devices. Along with mobile, video has the most significant influence on improving consideration rates throughout the B2B purchasing process.
So, mobile video is essential whether you’re attempting to reach individual customers or buyers for Fortune 500 firms. With such an extensive audience watching, you want to be sure your mobile videos are up to par. Here are 11 excellent practices for optimizing mobile video.
Keep it short
Previously, shorter was better when it came to ideal video length. While each platform has a different optimal duration, less than two minutes is a good starting point.
Shorter videos generate more interest, which is particularly true for mobile video. Most mobile users are just unwilling to commit to a lengthy video. Aim for conciseness and emphasis. Committing to a strict time constraint will allow you to eliminate extraneous features and make your movies more appealing.
Hone Your Focus
Your message is only fit for mobile audiences if it’s simple enough to describe in a sentence. Choose one story or product characteristic to promote and stay laser-focused on that message. Remove unnecessary information or divide it into many videos that all emphasize a different aspect of an issue or feature. The advantage of this strategy is that viewers will not become tired of seeing the same video repeatedly. You’ll have a constant flow of new things to share.
Your mobile users will watch the videos that are relevant to them and will like the sleek, consumable content. Remember that mobile viewers do not skip through uninteresting or unimportant portions as desktop users do; instead, they just go on to another video that better answers their queries.
Have great thumbnails
Remember that mobile video optimization begins before the video even begins to play. People evaluate a video by its cover; if your film seems dull, no one will spend time viewing it. Too frequently, businesses will spend millions of dollars on a beautifully animated film just to have it ruined by a dull, random video thumbnail generated by a YouTube algorithm.
Scrub through your movie for an exciting moment, then take that frame as a video thumbnail. Then entice visitors by adding a large text overlay advertising the topic of your video. For animated videos, you may request that your animator generate a bespoke thumbnail that is more professional than a screenshot.
Hook viewers in the first 3 seconds
You have around three seconds to get the attention of the viewers. Skip splash screens and use brand or product graphics in the first few seconds to go directly to the point.
The strongest video hooks contain visually appealing people, rich visuals, and a dramatic beginning. Grab mobile users; attention straight away and keep them looking until they walk face-first into a pole.
Optimize Mobile Video for Audio Independence
A good soundtrack or voiceover may give a product film or explainer video more personality and complexity. However, many mobile viewers turn off the sound. According to Verizon media research, 69% of individuals view videos without sound in public, while 25% keep their phones on mute even in private.
You’re losing prospective leads if your video depends on narration to express your message.
Optimize mobile video that is audio-independent, with crisp graphics that transmit the content without the need for sound. Captions and subtitles may assist, but a visually appealing video is the most effective tool.
Add some Text
You may include words in your video’s animated visuals and visual elements. Use on-screen text to emphasize crucial points and reinforce your message. On-screen text is an excellent approach to improve information density when you just have a few seconds to work with. You’ve probably heard the expression, a picture is worth a thousand words. Your 60-second smartphone movie is equivalent to 1.8 million words, if this is correct. Don’t throw away a single frame.
Establish Visual Hierarchy
Create a visual hierarchy to maximize the effect of your content. Mobile video is predicated on a basic hierarchy: visual clues always dominate aural messages. We emphasize the most important content using strong primary colors to avoid visual overload. You may get a similar effect by carefully selecting font size and color.
Use large, strong typography that contrasts with the color and subject of your video. If you’re worried about your writing being legible, use white lettering with a thin black border around it. It will stand out against any backdrop.
Use the Right Aspect Ratios
Mobile video’s default proportions, or aspect ratios, vary from desktop ones. Most smartphone users will not necessarily see your video in its entirety. Furthermore, on mobile devices, many users prefer vertical video. They don’t want to swivel their phone to view a video, so make sure your video conforms to the platform’s aspect ratio.
Use Quick Cuts to Keep Things Interesting
A video’s narrative is accelerated through quick cuts and clever transitions. Holding on to a single steady shot will rapidly weary viewers, and boredom equals bounces. To communicate your tale, keep the camera moving with fast cuts that frame and reframe the topic in fresh and engaging ways.
Choose Unexpected Angles
If you only remember one thing from this blog article, make it this: mobile videos cannot be dull. You may zoom to the top of a building, dive into your computer screen, or even leap inside a child’s painting with animation. Use dramatic views and creative narrative angles to grab and hold your audience’s attention.
Ask for What You Want
Once you’ve engaged mobile viewers, your next aim is to convert them. Conversions may be increased using a simple call-to-action that is simple to implement.
Maintain simplicity. The goal of mobile video should be to generate a single, quantifiable action—every click results in a more precise target audience for future advertising. Create a conversion route (shares, learn more, join up, or purchase) and monitor what works.
Business Pro consultants can help you ensure your mobile optimization strategy is flawless at every step of your customer journey. Contact us today to get started!
Conclusion
With more and more consumers using smartphones and other mobile devices, companies have no other option than to make sure their websites are responsive and optimized for mobile viewing.
Information optimized for desktop and mobile creates a great user experience. Mobile devices have small displays and busy users, who might be on a train, bus, coffee shop, or in a store.
Mobile-friendly content fits smaller screens and adjusts font size for small devices.
Mobile sites should only offer mobile-friendly videos. Email correspondence should load quickly and include only a few images.
Mobile-optimized content makes it easier for prospective customers to learn about your business and make purchases. If your site loads slowly or its elements need to be bigger to navigate quickly, you may lose potential sales.
Mobile optimization earns you more sales, customers, and engagement across the board. Keeping your videos and text short and punchy will keep people from scrolling away. If you need some help optimizing your content for the web, reach out to Business Pro to learn how we can streamline your content and get more conversions for you!