With the rising prominence of mobile search in recent years, and the expectation for this trend to continue growing, many businesses are wondering if it makes sense to invest in a mobile app. According to estimates, 92% of mobile device usage is spent on apps while only 8% is used on web browsing. While this may seem like a dramatic shift, that doesn’t mean that all businesses need or should pursue the release of a mobile app.
In the modern age, a business will often have a hard time finding success through digital mediums if they aren’t accounting for their mobile marketing strategy. According to Google, more than 50% of global search queries now come from a mobile device and mobile-first indexing plays a prominent role in search engine results placement. If you are ready to fine-tune your mobile marketing strategy, here are some easy ways to get started.
As Skynet Solutions has predicted over the last year, Google has now started rolling out mobile-first indexing to more sites. This means that the mobile version of your website’s content will ultimately create and determine how you rank, even for desktop users. This announcement is the first time Google has verified a large number of sites will be included in the mobile-first indexing process.
We now live in a digital age where information is at our fingertips at all times. The arrival of internet connected phones has allowed consumers to find information no matter where they are. Fortunately, business owners can benefit from this phenomenon as well. The addition of mobile friendly features into your updated website design is paramount in the modern age. In fact, mobile and tablet access has actually surpassed desktop internet usage. The affordability of new mobile phones and tablets has allowed unprecedented internet access worldwide and this trend shows no signs of slowing.
When searching for search engine optimization solutions you have likely come across the phrases bounce rate and click back. These two factors play a critical role in how users are interacting with your website and, in turn, how relevant is should be in the search results. Let’s look at what each factor means:
A bounce from your website is logged each time a user visits your website but doesn’t visit another page. This can be tracked if the user clicks an outbound link or manually enters a new URL.
A click back occurs when a user visits your website and either doesn’t like what they see or can’t properly use it. In this instance, the user will click the back button on their browser and find a more relevant search result. Google also calculates the time the user spends on each page while visiting your site before performing either a click back or bounce. These factors play a critical role in how well your website ranks in the search engine.
When you invest the time in creating a mobile friendly website, you ensure that the information presented will be easily seen by visitors. This can immediately help decrease the number of click backs and bounces seen by the website owner because a large portion will likely be using a mobile device. Ultimately, this tiny detail can help your website rank higher in the long term as Google continues to focus on mobile friendly search results as a ranking factor. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!
The team at Skynet Solutions was recently honored with a Congressional Commendation by U.S. Representative Jim Bridenstine, in recognition of all the work we have been doing to educate, enhance and strengthen the small business community in Oklahoma. A Congressional Commendation is awarded by a member of Congress to officially recognize outstanding public achievement by those in their districts. One of the most rewarding parts of being an official Google Partner is all the events we get to host and speak at where Skynet Solutions marketing experts get to share their knowledge and interact with other local businesses.
Here at Skynet Solutions, we love being a part of the small business community and using our skills to help other local entrepreneurs succeed as well. Since fall 2015, we have been hosting and participating in “GYBO” (Get Your Business Online) seminars throughout Oklahoma to help small business owners get their businesses online. Thanks to our partners at Google, the REI Women’s Business Center, the Tulsa chapter of SCORE, area chambers of commerce and others, we have been able to help dozens of local business—like yours—improve their online presence in a variety of ways!
We’ve hosted workshops across the state, from Ponca City to Stillwater and Muskogee to Bartlesville and have covered topics ranging from how to use Google Analytics effectively to what S.E.O. is and how you can use it to amplify your business’ online presence. We also covered and held entire workshops dedicated to helping business owners get their business listed on Google Maps and other maps listing services, like Bing and Apple, and other effective tactics to make sure potential customers are able to easily find their business online. We have found maps listings to be one of the most effective ways to help a small, local business grow.
Skynet Solutions also recently co-hosted a special event in May to celebrate and promote National Small Business Week. Along with Tulsa SCORE, we created and hosted the inaugural SCORE Small Business Summit Tulsa, which brought together about 100 mentors, business experts and entrepreneurs from around the region to network and discuss all aspects of starting, owning and running a small business. Speakers from The Small Business Administration, Constant Contact, Tulsa Economic Development Corporation, the Tulsa chapter of SCORE, Skynet Solutions, REI Women’s Business Center and other local and regional institutions discussed everything from email marketing and small business taxes to bookkeeping for small businesses and social media marketing.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of a robust and up to date online presence for a local business; 50 percent of all mobile searches are conducted in hopes of finding local results, and 61 percent of those searches result in a purchase, according to Search Engine Watch. In addition to that, 56 percent of mobile searches are from users seeking local information, like business hours, directions or a physical address for your store—which is why maps listings are so critical. If your business can’t be easily found online, customers are going to go elsewhere. You also have to make sure your business website is mobile friendly.
With the majority of internet searches originating from mobile devices, not desktops or laptops, according to Google, the majority of people who end up on your business’ website are going to get there from a mobile search. The majority of customers believe it is easier to find information on a mobile-optimized site and 48 percent of people who visit a site that’s not friendly feel that the company doesn’t care about their business. That’s definitely not the impression you want to give off to your valued customers!
To learn more about all of the educational small business-focused events that Skynet Solutions participates in and hosts, you can keep up with our blog, follow us on social media or give us a call. In the meantime, you can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your online business listing, website development, social media marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our online contact form on our website to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!
Just in time for summer, Skynet Solutions helped Eufaula Cove Marina, one of Oklahoma’s best summer spots, launch a new and improved website. The new website, which is also hosted by Skynet Solutions, features new design and graphics to give it a cleaner look, a redesigned backend to make it easier for employees to use and customers to navigate and fresh content to provide all the relevant information for Marina visitors. Our content team also wrote an introductory, welcome blog post for the blog page on their site, to help Eufaula Cove Marina get their blogging efforts off the ground. Blogging is an overlook and often underutilized marketing resource for many small businesses that has many benefits. It gives you a free opportunity to promote your business, your products or services and any ongoing promotions or specials on your site and social media (we know how paid advertising can add up). It also gives you another chance to show your business’ personality and humanize your brand, which is important because people are more likely to use services or buy goods from a business they feel they have a personal connection with. Most importantly, however, blogging gives you a chance to regularly produce new website content. This is important because the more quality content you have on your site and the more often it is refreshed, the higher your website is going to be ranked in search engine results. It won’t happen overnight, but in time, regular blogging will improve SEO (search engine optimization). Google (the most used search engine) uses a complex algorithm to rank websites. But they have said that length and quality of content are big factors in that algorithm. The best thing for you to do is blog at least once a week, to include relevant links in your content and aim for your blog posts to be between 700 and 1,000 words long. Keeping your entire website, not just your blog, up to date is extremely important for any business, no matter your industry or your size. Did you know that the lifespan of a website is only about three years? Technology changes rapidly in the span of three years, meaning everything could be looking, and running, a little behind the times. Your website also might not be mobile friendly anymore, which is a huge roadblock to success—especially for a local business. According to Google, more searches now happen from mobile devices than laptops or desktops. And the majority of mobile searches are made with the hope of finding local results. What this all boils down to, is that if your website doesn’t work on mobile, it doesn’t work. No matter your business or your target clientele, customers are looking for you online, via mobile devices. And if they can’t find you, or they can’t use your website quickly and easily, they will go to a competitor who has a website that is easy to use from a mobile device. You work hard to make sure your business is as good as it can possibly be. And as the digital face of your company, your website should work just as hard to please your customers as you do. You want a website that looks good, has relevant information about your business that customers seek, loads quickly and is easy to use on every device under the sun! Take some time today to look at your business’ website and see if it is up-to-date. Is it mobile friendly? Is it less than three years old? Do the pages load quickly? If the answer to all three of these questions isn’t yes, it is definitely time for you to overhaul your site. In the meantime, you can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with any design, development or marketing needs, including your online business listing, website development, marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. You can fill out our online contact form on our website to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!
Skynet Solutions offers premium eCommerce support services, digital marketing, SEO implementation, custom development & graphic design.
