mobile strategy for small businesses - sme mobile strategies 2014

Mobile Strategyfor Small Businesses

BRIDGET RANDOLPHSME MOBILE STRATEGIES 2014

mobile is

HUGE.

Image/Graph etc.

Image Source

by 2017,

85% of the world’s population

will have 3G coverage.

@BridgetRandolphSource: Ericsson Mobility Report

internet.org initiative from Facebook

@BridgetRandolphSource: Cisco's Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update

internet in year 2000

mobile data

in 2012

mobile data usage in 2012 was

12x the size of

the entire internet in 2000

@BridgetRandolphSource: Ericsson Mobility Report (pg. 10)

we’ll be more

connected than ever

@BridgetRandolph

you'll reach

people

you can't reach any other way.

@BridgetRandolph

a multiscreen, device-agnostic

world.

@BridgetRandolph

25% of UK consumers have made a purchase

using their mobile device.

Source: Econsultancy

77% of smartphone users have

researched a product or service on their phone.Source: Google Databoard

about half then purchased the item

in-store.Source: Google Databoard

so businesses need to be

mobile-friendly.

mobile can’t just be

an add-on anymore.

@BridgetRandolph

the

problem is,

people are doing it

WRONG.

even big brands

mess up…

Forbes – interstitial adsImage/Graph etc.

…and my personal favourite:

Starbucks – lost CTAImage/Graph etc.

Starbucks – lost CTA

(they’ve fixed it now.)

…or worse, they

don’t do anything.

60% of small businesses have websites; only half of these are mobile-friendly.

Apple – no mobile website

70% of

the top 20 UK retailers have a mobile-friendly website.Source: Econsultancy

only

Image/Graph etc.

Image Source

small businesses are even

less likely to have a mobile-friendly web presence.

60% of small businesses have websites; only half of these are mobile-friendly.

2 reasons.

they don’t see the

value.

71% of smartphone owners have researched a product on their device which they later bought.

but it’s easy enough

to show the

value of mobile marketing.

84% of small businesses saw an increase in new business due to mobile marketing efforts

so it seems more likely that…

…they just don’t know

where to start.

that’s where I come in.

BRIDGET RANDOLPH

SEO Consultant, Distilled

bridget.randolph@distilled.net

@BridgetRandolph

Mobile Strategyfor Small Businesses

BRIDGET RANDOLPH

Getting Started with Mobile

1• Mobile Friendly Website

2• Search and Discovery

3• Reaching Your Customers

Where they Are

Step 1

Mobile-Friendly Website

where your online

customers primarily

interact with you.

61% of mobile users who land on a non-mobile-friendly site are likely to go to a competitor's site

3 main approaches

• responsive– rearranges the layout

• dynamic serving– serves different HTML on same URL

• separate mobile subdomain– e.g. m.domain.com

choose an approach

based on

your goals and technical

capabilities

your

users’ needs.

(we did a flowchart for our Best Practice Guide)

www.distilled.net/training/mobile-seo-guide

but for a

small business with a

small website…

…I’d usually recommend using

a responsive template,

and a

CMS (like Wordpress).

individual Wordpress themes

• Designfolio (from PressCoders): free, or $79 with support licence.

• Standard: $49 or $99 with support licence.• Responsive (from CyberChimps): free.

premium Wordpress theme providers

• Elegant Themes: ~$40/year with full support.• WooThemes: free-$70.

or, if you don’t want to use Wordpress:

• SquareSpace: from $8/month (for the most basic service).

• Wix: around $10/month.

Simples!Image/Graph etc.

Image Source

but I can’t afford that.

well,

if you do

NOTHING else,

Facebook.

Google+.

because they’re already

mobile-friendly.

and

start saving up for a mobile-friendly website!Image Source

final point to

remember:

a mobile-friendlywebsite is

NOT a strategy.

it’s just the

starting point.

Step 2 Search and

Discovery

how people find

your website.

1.mobile SEO2.local search3.social media

1) mobile SEO

responsive design?

SEO of Responsive Design by Kristina Kledzik

You don’t need to do anything extra.

what if I can’t use a responsive design?

dynamic serving

Vary HTTP header http://goo.gl/km1qcZ

Up to 73% of mobile local keyword rankings differed from their desktop counterparts

separate URLs

There are

several areasto look at.

I wrote a whole post on Moz about it.http://moz.com/blog/how-to-optimize-a-mobile-site

A Checklist for Optimizing Your Mobile Site

2) local search

any business with a

physical location and/or

location-based

service area.

94% of smartphone users have looked for local info and 84% have taken action as a result

Desktop result for ‘plumber’ search in London

Mobile result for ‘plumber’ search in London

there are

several factors for local search rankings

on-page optimization for location

Image/Graph etc.

local listings

- Google My Business

- other relevant local business directories- Yahoo! Local- Bing Local - Yelp- Merchant Circle- Angie’s List- Judy’s Book - Kudzu 

Google My BusinessImage/Graph etc.

Small Business Guide to Google My Business

local linkbuilding(e.g. local news sites, government sites, blogs, etc.)

“NAP” citations(like links for local SEO)

• Name• Address• Phone number

consistencysignal to Google that they all refer to the same business

protip: use Whitespark’s

Local Citation Finder tool

- from $20/month

imagesstorefront and product

Image/Graph etc.

structured data

- Schema.org: /Place and /LocalBusiness- hCard markup- KML file for GoogleMaps

social profiles

- Google+- Facebook

24% of local search via apps happens on Facebook’s mobile app

reviews and recommendations

- Yelp- Google My Business

- TripAdvisor- Yahoo! Local- Foursquare- Zagat (for restaurants)

for a great local SEO resource, check out David Mihm’s report on

Local Search Ranking Factors 2013

http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

Does it work?

case study – Coffee CornerImage/Graph etc.

We managed to get them to the top of page 1 within 6 weeks, which took their

search traffic from 100 to just under 300 visitors per month

Gareth Brown, founder of Target Local

They’re also seeing visitors coming from their Yelp

profile.

3) social media

we’ve already seen that

social is important

for local SEO.

but it’s also a

marketing channel

in its own right.

4 out of every 5people who

use Facebook daily access it on a

mobile device.

social media is a good way for your mobile visitors to

find and

interactwith you…

…if you do it right.

and social is not just a part of

the discovery process.

@BridgetRandolph

a great channel for maintaining

customer

loyalty.@BridgetRandolph

first, you need to

remember:

it’s about

conversation, not

broadcast.

use the

‘dinner party’ test.

and have a content plan.

this is all just basic

social media best practice.

mobile-social

protip:make sure that the

content you share

is mobile-friendly.

so you’ve got a mobile-friendly website.

and you’ve made it easy for mobile users

to find you.

now what?

now the fun part:

Step 3: Reaching Out

in this phase, you can reach out to your customers

where they are,

instead of

waiting for them to come to you.

you can bypass

the search process altogether with

- apps- exclusive mobile content- emails

1) apps

do I need an app?

Apple Store: 900,000+ appsGoogle Play: 1,000,000+ apps

@BridgetRandolphSource

7 iPhone apps earned

10% of app store revenue for iPhone

@BridgetRandolphSource

benefit:it’s a walled garden.

@BridgetRandolph

are you

sure

you need one?

@BridgetRandolph

probably not.

small steps:ask yourself, does my app:

@BridgetRandolph5 questions based on ‘For Mobile Devices, Think Apps, Not Ads’, HBR Mar 2013

add convenience?

@BridgetRandolph

small steps: ask yourself, does my app:

offer unique value?

@BridgetRandolph

small steps: ask yourself, does my app:

provide social value?

@BridgetRandolph

small steps: ask yourself, does my app:

offer incentives?

@BridgetRandolph

small steps: ask yourself, does my app:

entertain?

@BridgetRandolph

small steps: ask yourself, does my app:

if not,

you probably shouldn’t build it.

@BridgetRandolph

small steps: ask yourself, does my app:

but if your business model relies on

frequent return visits,

it may be worth investing in an

app.

2 types of app:

1. native app (iOS, Android, etc)2. web app (HTML5)

Image/Graph etc.

Apple's App Store contains ~775,000 apps

native app web app

pros• faster performance• more specific functionality• app store support

cons• ££££• high-maintenance• approval process longer

pros• cheaper• easier to maintain

cons• one-size-fits-all• can’t be accessed offline• no app store support

some tools to help you build an app:

- Bizness Apps: from $59/month (native apps)

- ViziApps: starts from £29/month (web app) or £99/month for (native app)

- AppMakr: free native Android app (with ads), or for $9/month native iPhone and Android apps (no ads). - Premium option: $99 one-time fee for white-label

version.

- RedFoundry: contact for a quote

These tools were featured on Mashable

And of course, AppsBuilder!

- from €9/month

2) exclusive mobile content

some ideas:

- loyalty app

- push notifications with geotargeting

related to

- exclusive offers for mobile visitors

are you sure you need an app?

because if you want an

easy hack…

- check-in and

coupon services

Foursquare, Facebook, Groupon.

added benefit:

online visibility and

social proof

speaking of Facebook

and Foursquare…

bonus tip:

social media

competitions

3) emails

62% of e-mails are

opened on mobile devices. 

@BridgetRandolphSource: US Consumer Device Preference Report (Q2 2013)

email marketing

IS mobile marketing.

@BridgetRandolph

if you do email marketing, make sure you’re using

mobile-friendly email templates.

79% of smartphone owners use their smartphone for reading email

email providers with mobile-friendly templates

• MailChimp: from ~$10/month

• Campaign Monitor: from $10/month or $5/campaign

if you don’t want to use their full service, you can simply use them to

build your email and

export the HTML.

and finally…

bonus tip:

provide

in-store wifi and collect customer data such as email addresses or (quick!) survey answers.

Half of the smartphone users who researched a product on their phone later purchased the item in-store

this doesn’t have to be scary…Image/Graph etc.

Image Source

in fact, it’s

really easy!MyPlaceConnect provides a service to set this up for you - from €25/month

you might decide to do ALL the things. Image/Graph etc.

or not.

but no matter your individual needs…

…there are a few important things to remember.

mobile is

HUGE.Mobile commerce accounts for 23% of online sales

Source: Mobile Growth Stats 2013

need you

a mobile strategy.

start with a

mobile-friendly website.

and

build up from there.

it’s

easier than you think!

So get started now!

THANK YOU

bridget.randolph@distilled.net

@BridgetRandolph

Why Mobile’s Important2012 KPCB internet trends updateGoogle Think Insights reportGoogle DataboardFull Value of Mobile calculatorThe Mobile PlaybookOur Mobile PlanetGlobal Mobile Stats 2013Ericsson Mobility Report 2013

Building a Mobile SiteMobile Web Design TipsDistilled’s best practice guideDesigning for SEO

Understanding Your Mobile VisitorsGoogle Analytics for Mobile

Mobile SEOKeyword Research for mobileResponsive SEO Tune-up

Optimizing your local presence for mobile Mobile SEO AuditOptimizing a separate mobile siteSEO of Responsive Web DesignImpact of Google Smartphone Crawler 1Impact of Google Smartphone Crawler 2Impact of Google Smartphone Crawler 3Google’s mobile development guidelinesGoogle blog - mobile and ranking factors

Thinking More About Mobile‘What is “Mobile”?’Mobile Strategy for Small Businesses

@BridgetRandolph