Mobile Search Strategies

These days visitors to sites are not just getting on via a computer, rather tablets, smart phones, and other mobile devices have become the norm for internet use. A good marketing strategy will include a mobile search strategy for the business in question. If you are going to put together a mobile search strategy, it is important to understand how mobile visitors are using your site. Here is a quick how to, for getting the information on not just who is using your site via mobile, but filtered reports about that use.

First, set up a Google Analytics account. You should already be using Google Analytics as part of your marketing campaign, so to use it for a mobile search strategy, you simply want to take it a step further and set up an advanced segment. It takes only a few minutes and can help you better evaluate the mobile use of your site, and create a marketing plan that capitalizes on this information.

Go to the Google analytics page, and click on "Advanced Segments", which is a link on the lower left hand side of the Google Analytics navigation.Once you have done this you will want to look to the top of the page that comes up, and click on the phrase "Create a new custom segment". Now locate the "Dimensions" section and clock on "Visitors". You will then want to find the green "Mobile" rectangle, and you will want to drag it into the "Dimension or Metrics" box. Then set it so that the "Condition" is "Matches Exactly" and the "Value" is "Yes."Once you have done this, name your segment "Mobile", and run the test, then save it.

By setting up this advanced segment you are allowing yourself to get a Google Analytics report that is only using mobile user data. Thus, showing you how the mobile visitors to your site are navigating, and what they are doing. This will help you to recognize which landing pages are having problems for mobile users, or what you could improve on. It will allow you to build a more user-friendly mobile version of your site. It may be costly or time consuming, but with the trends of mobile search use on the rise, it is a valid way to be spending some of your marketing dollars. If you do not have the staff to do it, there are a number of companies out there willing to create a mobile version for you.

If you want to get even more specific, and create mobile versions for specific phones or devices, browsers, etc. you can run the advanced segment for each device as well, simply do it the same way as stated above. It is up to you how nitty gritty you get with it, but don't ignore it. Mobile search is happening, and it is important to put together a comprehensive mobile search strategy for your company. If you don't, you will be missing out on a great deal of the available market share.