Interconnectivity is a key to business success. Most workforces, especially in the tech industry, are on-the-go. How many times do you check your email from your smartphone or tablet a month? A week? A day? That’s just one example of how mobility is changing the way business is conducted.
A recent study by Televox found that mobile traffic increases by 3.5 percent each month across all industries! Wow! If that statistic is not enough to blow your hair back, maybe this one will: according to eMarketer, local mobile searches (expected to be 85.9 billion) are projected to exceed desktop searches (currently 84 billion) for the first time in 2015.
We are big fans of data at SmartFile and rounded up a few facts and figures about mobile search that we hope will blow your data nerd mind.
Ready?
7 Mobile Statistics (To Blow Your Mind)
- Global smartphone use will reach 2 billion by 2015. (SOURCE: Bloomberg)
- Nearly half of American smartphone owners used shopping apps in June 2012. (SOURCE: MarketingPilgrim)
- 45 percent of users between 18 and 29 use mobile search daily. (SOURCE: Icebreaker Consulting)
- 31 percent of mobile Internet users mostly go online using cell phones. (SOURCE: Pew)
- Tablet users access search 73.9 percent of the time, more than any other activity. (SOURCE: eMarketer)
- 77 percent of mobile searches occur at home or work—even if a PC is nearby and readily available (SOURCE: Search Engine Land)
- 46 percent of mobile users say they are unlikely to return to a website they had trouble accessing from their phone (SOURCE: Gomez)
Why You Should Care
By the end of 2013, your marketing will be outdated if you haven’t adapted to appeal to mobile users with smartphones and tablets. Consumers will continue to migrate from desktops to mobile devices; the companies that are too slow to “get with the times” and include mobile functionality in design and marketing will ultimately lose both current and potential customers. Even if you operate a business outside of the retail space, you should prepare for mobile searchers to access your site.
What To Do About It
Start to adapt your marketing strategies, website, etc. to incorporate mobile right now. Seriously, do it immediately! Do some research and figure out how you can pivot toward mobile presently and in the future. Here are a few simple ideas to get you started:
- Make sure your website uses responsive design.
- Monitor how people access your site using Google Analytics. How much traffic comes from mobile each month? What do you notice when comparing traffic from mobile month over month? Year over year?
- Consider building an application for smartphone and tablet users. Maybe there should be an app for that!
- Build visually focused content: less words, more pics and graphics.
SmartFile understands the importance of being on the go. That’s why we’re improving the file sharing capabilities of our Web App to keep pace with your needs and lifestyle. Starting in October, our new UI will be responsive aka smartphone and tablet ready!
Have you noticed an increase of mobile traffic to your website? How are you becoming “mobile ready”? Please share in the comments below.
Image Credit: Flickr, DHammza