Boost Your Websites Mobile Prominence With a Search Engine Optimisation Company

Many website owners appear to be reluctant to embrace mobile users. But, with nearly 12% of website visits coming from tablets and smartphones, a number which is predicted to rise to 17% by the end of the year, you cannot afford to ignore the mobile market if you want a successful site.

A search engine optimisation company has pointed out that 45% of people in the UK have access to a smartphone; and tablets such as iPads, BlackBerry PlayBooks, and other devices are becoming increasingly popular. Failing to optimise your website for these mobile devices is effectively losing the half of the population who access the web while out and about.

But all websites can be accessed on mobile internet browsers. So what is the problem?

A popular search engine optimisation company has advised site owners to be aware of the difference between mobile and desktop and laptop internet browsers. Mobile users, including those on smartphones and tablets, have shorter attention spans than others. This may be due to a combination of their mobile nature, people are out and only able to temporarily remain online (perhaps because their access is used to fill spare time, find something particular quickly or they spending time with others). Limited internet access may only be available, and sometimes the smaller screen and awkwardness of use can put off users.

These factors mean that your website should be optimised by having a mobile site or app. Optimising for mobile users will allow them to spend their (perhaps limited) time on your site efficiently, therefore being more likely to result in sales. The results can be dramatic. It was reported that online fashion website ASOS found its mobile sales increased by 800% in a year since launching a mobile site, and Argos secures £2.6million a week in sales thanks to its app which enables users to reserve items on their mobile devices. Search engine optimisation companies believe this is due to their improved usability, faster loading time and quick and simple checkout and reservation processes.

Viewing non-mobile pages on mobile devices can mean users have to scroll around constantly to see aspects featured on the full page, often having to zoom in on particular areas. Text is sometimes too small to read, images are blurry or too large to load and buttons can be difficult to press when they are too small. Flash and Java are not supported by many mobile devices (the iPhone included), so these areas of your website will be invisible to a huge number of users.

Optimising your website for mobile users is likely to involve dramatically simplifying the content, creating an effective layout including white space and navigation buttons which are easy to select on even the smallest screens, and avoiding Flash, Java and pop-up windows. Speak to a search engine optimisation company for more advice on increasing your websites audience by optimising for the mobile market. 70% of companies have not optimised their websites for mobile. Optimise your site today to ensure that you stay in the top 30%.