Small Business Marketing Tips for 2017 – It’s All About Mobile

If there is one thing you can say about marketing in the digital age, it’s that there is never a boring moment! There is always something new and exciting on the horizon, whether it be a new social media platform, Google algorithm shift or SEO updates, it’s a lot to keep up with. Mobile is the be-all, end-all for marketing in 2017. If you aren’t on the mobile train already, you’d better hop on fast because it’s gone from steam train to light rail in record time.

Your Website MUST Be Mobile Friendly

You can have a responsive site, which is one that works for form fills and some functionality on a mobile device, without having a mobile friendly website. Mobile friendly means that your site is mobile responsive and optimized for mobile activity and offers excellent user experience. It will shrink appropriately to fit the screen size and make for easy navigation, reading and form fills. If you have to blow up any part of your site to see things or fill out a form it is not user or mobile friendly. This is a major factor for Google and really hasn’t been an option, but a necessity if you want to rank on the search engine for quite some time. Now is the time to pull the trigger on a new website if you have been resisting to mobile-friendly trend.

Mobile Pop-Ups Are a No-No

We all know that pop-up ads are annoying, but they are getting more and more obtrusive. The ads that you have to scroll across your screen to continue reading an article, or ones that pop up as soon as you navigate to a website forcing you to play or close them before moving on make for a horrible user experience. These will quite negatively affect your bounce rate and Google does not like giving their users a poor experience. In 2017 you will see Google coming down on sites that use what are called “intrusive interstitial” ads (described above). The exceptions are necessary pop-ups, banner ads and gateway pop-ups. Outside of this, it is a good idea to avoid this content altogether on your site.

Accelerated Mobile Pages

Google announced it’s AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) project last year and it’s obvious when on mobile what this means, at least on the surface. When you navigate to a mobile accelerated page it loads in the blink of an eye for the optimal user experience. How many times have you navigated away from a site due to slow load speed? This seems to be more annoying when on mobile than any other time. The points mentioned previous are must-haves to keep up with your competition, but this is the way to pull ahead of the pack. To get an even better idea of the difference that AMP makes, check out these sites which are already running with the technology.

More and more people use their mobile devices for some major online navigating and purchasing. The shift to mobile has been apparent for some time, and the tipping point is just around the bend. Putting focus and efforts toward mobile reach is imperative to businesses in 2017. Honestly, it already was in 2016. Small businesses fall victim to being left behind when new technology, algorithms and the like hit the market because they are too busy keep up with…well, business. Even if there was time to keep up with trends like these, there isn’t time to implement them. That is, unless you have a partner who knows just what to do! Let us help you reach your mobile audience with a focused digital plan and mobile friendly website that will keep you top of mind, no matter when, where or on which device.

Cathy Edison

My philosophy is more than just words or data, it is finding a way to marry content and SEO strategy with dynamic advertising to build online equity in our clients’ businesses. Writing is my passion, using it to help others is my pleasure and part of my mission at Hot Dog Marketing.