Mobile Internet use doubled in the last year alone. With that type of growth, Clients who don’t have a mobile PPC advertising strategy risk losing potential sales and leads. But you can’t just jump haphazardly into mobile; like anything else, it’s critical to first understand how customers view and use the medium.
A recent poll by Google on smart phone user behavior sheds some light on the issue. In particular, the study revealed the following about smart phone users:
- 71% search because of an ad they’ve seen either online or offline.
- 82% notice mobile ads.
- 74% make a purchase as a result of using their smartphones to help with shopping.
- 88% of users who look for local information on their smartphones take action within a day.
Additionally, mobile search queries have grown 400% over the last year. With that in mind, it’s time to think smart and make sure you have a comprehensive mobile paid search strategy.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Know Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Maybe you’re looking at reservations, quotes or appointments. Or perhaps you sell products. Whatever it is, set your campaign goals, target and payout criteria in advance and track them rigorously.
- Remember Your Mobile Benchmarks. Similarly, be sure to identify and evaluate mobile-specific metrics, such as call duration, the number of calls per lead, etc.
- Test, Test, Test. Utilize a combination of multivariate and A/B testing to identify the elements, images, messaging and layouts that result in the most conversions. Remember, many small improvements can add up to one large impact.
- Expand Your Network. Depending on your offerings, partner up with popular local search, Internet Yellow Pages and social networking sites.
- Most Importantly, Don’t Be Passive. Continuously optimize your mobile content and pages based on performance and customer response.
And while you may be new to the arena, don’t fall into the trap of simply having a mobile presence. After all, while the platform may be different, it’s still PPC. So be confident and be diligent, whether it’s setting up the right campaign architecture or digging into keyword intelligence. Strive to be active, timely and relevant – the customers will follow.
