How To Create Mobile-Friendly Content For Your Visitors
Posted by Jacob Harris on Fri, Oct 28, 2011
As Internet speeds continue to pick up for cell phones, mobile-friendly websites are becoming more important. Terms like: 3G, 4G and mobile hot spot weren't commonly-used a couple of years ago but they are quickly becoming part of the our every day conversation. Therefore, mobile content marketing should be a big part of your business plan.
A Different Approach to Content
Have you ever been to a website that has pop-ups, games, graphics, text and other content all stuffed together on the same page? If so, you know that the quality of the visitor experience does not depend on the quality of the content if the quantity and layout don't fit.
Webmasters have realized that and now put as much emphasis on having a well-organized, clean presentation of the content so that the page is user-friendly. Google has also forced these changes by updating their search algorithm to reward well-designed pages over pages stuffed with too much content.
Mobile site designers have to take it a step farther and keep the screen and operating system of the mobile device in mind. Files have to be downsized, the layout needs to be thinner and more vertical and the top of the page needs to deliver content, rather than an advertisement or fluff.
Optimization
The optimization tactics are completely different than for traditional websites. Mobile content marketing is done by focusing on a small number of features more than it is about keyword density and quality backlinks. You want to concentrate on selecting elements for your mobile site that are easy to use, will load quickly and get straight to the point.
Think about it this way; even though mobile internet is becoming much faster and more people use it regularly, it is still not to the point where users are sitting around casually browsing. The user is more likely to want quick results and usefulness than fun graphics and 600-word articles. You have to deliver that while still making your site pertinent to your business and purpose.
Take a Macro-Approach
I understand that it may seem like a monumental task to design a website that loads quickly and fits on a cell phone screen but also delivers the content you want users to see. But remember that your mobile content marketing strategy includes more than your mobile website.
Mobile applications, SMS messaging and MMS messaging should also be a big part of your approach, along with anything else you find that is relevant to your business. If you use these technologies to complement your mobile site, you can ease the demand on your site to deliver the entire experience and focus on functionality.
For example, if you have daily deals or news that you would like to get to your users, think about putting this in an SMS text alerts rather than a banner that will take time to load on your mobile web page. Or if you want the user to be able to open a large video, put it in an app so that the user can access it when they want and not when they are going to your site for an unrelated purpose.
Mobile Content Marketing
Compare the traditional YouTube site to their mobile site. Right away you'll see how much important content they have removed from the mobile version. They realized that users going to their mobile site usually know exactly what they want to see and the site is extremely functional for that. In the case that a user wants to browse videos for entertainment, YouTube provides an app for that.
The History Channel uses a similar technique but with much more of an emphasis on SMS messaging. Their mobile content marketing includes daily "This Day in History" messages that have a short teaser and a link to the mobile version of a page where you will find the article.
It may take you some time to perfect your mobile content marketing approach and that is exactly why now is the time to start working on it. Mobile internet is getting faster and more popular which means it is also becoming a bigger part of business. You don't want to get left behind so go ahead and try a few of your ideas. Make sure to take feedback from visitors and use it to tailor your content to what they want.