When Google announced in 2015 that more Google searches were taking place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries (including Japan and the United States), marketers experienced the beginning of a major shift in the way they reach their target audiences.
Since 2015, mobile has become an even larger piece of the search puzzle. (According to Hitwise, mobile searches account for 58 percent of all search activity in the United States.) Businesses (including True Interactive) continue to refine our digital strategies, including search campaigns, to better align with an increasingly on-the-go search audience. Meanwhile, Google has made great strides sharing features that that allow businesses to better target the mobile search segment. Those features include mobile bid modifiers, mobile preferred ad copy, the ability to show ads in mobile apps, and location extensions, among others.
In addition, Google continues to change its algorithms to reward content that is optimized for mobile – which means businesses need to make it a higher priority to ensure that their landing pages are mobile friendly.
Optimizing the Content of Your Landing Page
Optimizing your landing page for mobile means understanding first that behind every mobile device is a person. People using their mobile phones for search purposes are often literally on the go. The mobile audience is composed of busy, multi-tasking, need-it-done-now people. It is important to respect their limited time and attention.
This insight has an impact on how you view your landing page. For example, instead of directing customers to a home page containing a wide variety of products or services, look to more closely align keywords and ad copy. This strategy helps better define the searcher’s intent and will ensure they are directed to a landing page that most closely fits their search query.
For example, if someone searches for “women’s Nike cross-training shoes,” the best experience for the searcher would be to land on a page specifically displaying women’s Nike cross-training shoes versus a page displaying all women’s cross-training shoes or all Nike shoes.
You might be tempted to simply drive ads to a general landing page and have users drill down to specific pages, which is certainly the quickest and easiest way to integrate your digital ads with your landing page content. But doing so will hurt your conversion rates. Searchers typically find it more difficult to navigate sites using small mobile screens instead of larger desktop/laptop monitors. If your ad drives traffic to a landing page that requires multiple clicks before the searcher reaches their ultimate destination, the likelihood of the interaction ending in a conversion decreases with each subsequent click.
A Client Example
For example, for one of our clients, a hotel, we performed a test with searchers who were looking for “hotel discounts.” First, we drove those searchers to a home page that contained general information about the hotel, as well as a link to the “special offers” page. Then we tested an alternative landing page that sent searchers directly to a special offers page – resulting in a marked improvement in conversion rates.
It seems obvious that people searching for hotel discounts are most interested in seeing current deals offered by the hotel. By sending people searching for hotel discounts directly to the special offers page, we eliminated the risk of them leaving the website before checking out the special offers page. We also saved searchers the effort of locating the link to the special offers page and a few extra clicks as well – a big plus for people looking to complete a transaction quickly and easily on their mobile devices.
Not all keywords are specific enough to truly understand a searcher’s intent, but for those keywords that contain more modifiers, make sure you are taking full advantage and directing searchers to the most appropriate landing page. Remember, for the on-the-go, mobile audience, time is money. A few modifications to landing pages will save your customers time, and help boost your bottom line. Contact True Interactive. We’re here to help you build your brand.
Image source: Brodie Vissers
