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In today’s multi-channel, multimedia landscape, where we continue to play out our lives behind a web browser, there’s one small and compact device that is indispensable, and for which in the near future, usage figures are predicted to be miles ahead of the rest.
We are of course referring to the smartphone, an economical, personal computer that we check first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and at very regular intervals in between. It’s also probably the one device that, if you left at home without, you’d risk being late for work to return home and grab.
Indeed the latest data would show that the majority of our digital consumption now takes place in mobile apps (51% compared to 42% for desktop), and vertical screen usage has overtaken all other screen usage, according to techcrunch.com.
Yet many brands still fail to realize the need for a targeted mobile-specific strategy, despite individuals consuming more content via their mobiles than ever before.
Mobile Search
In the digital world, responsive design is now the buzzword, where brands are building websites so that an optimal viewing experience can be provided across a wide range of devices. To succeed in mobile, however, the importance of a high-performance site search is paramount to enable consumers to overcome the limitations posed by a miniature screen.
In laymen’s terms, mobile search refers to the ability to use a search engine to seek out information content via a mobile device. While brands are already architecting their websites so that they conform to the restrictions of (and look good on) a small, vertical screen, navigational challenges still exist. Not all consumers are efficient using a touch interface, and even those who are, find seeking out content on a mobile finicky. High performance mobile search therefore bridges this gap between consumer and the content they seek, which in a digital landscape, characterised by 24/7 accessibility to knowledge and information, is paramount if brands want to continue the conversation they’re having with their customers.
Start thinking about a high-performance mobile search
Think about it this way. One quarter of global web searches are conducted using a mobile device, and there are over one billion users worldwide. That’s pretty hefty. Yet mobile users are different, with different objectives than your typical desktop user. They’re handicapped, yet they usually require content quickly, and in easy-to-digest bites.
With mobile search, the shortest and simplest path between customers and the information they require can be forged, whilst satisfying the consumer expectation for immediacy.
However, if you’re not able to connect with consumers via mobile, or offer your digital products and services over a small, rectangular, portable screen, you will soon be losing the business of potential or existing customers to your competitors who will. We’d say that’s a pretty good reason to start getting yours up to scratch.
