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Multi-Screen Behavior: How to Prepare Your Site

Prepare Your Website for the Future of Online Purchasing

There is no denying that we are living in a time of rapid technological advances. Who would have thought that by 2020, it’s estimated that there will be 1.5 devices per person across the world? That’s a pretty impressive statistic! There’s also strong support showing that Millennials are the driving force behind new purchasing preferences. You can read more about this in our previous post. Consumer purchasing is adapting and multi-screen behavior is leading the buying process.

This post will focus on the growing trend of m-commerce, its role with multi-screen behavior and how to prepare your site for the future.

Multi-Screen Behavior’s Influence on User Experience

It’s important to understand that the buying and marketing process is no longer limited to one device like mobile, desktop PC or television. It’s now become a conversation. On one side, consumers are beginning the buying process on one device like their smartphone, then finishing the process on another device like a desktop computer.  Another avenue being used is multiple screens at the same time, like watching television and browsing the web on a tablet. This buying process blends the use of multiple screens in a variety of ways. In addition to this, mobile purchasing is becoming increasingly dominant in terms of e-commerce sales.

Mobile Driving Online Purchasing

Mobile purchasing, or m-commerce, is still considered e-commerce. The only difference is the device used for the purchase. Currently, m-commerce is driven through the use of smartphones over tablets. There’s an interesting study by Google stating 65% of online activity begins with smartphones. This means that the transaction will most likely begin from a smartphone, even if it doesn’t end there. So, the mobile user experience is becoming increasingly important. It’s imperative that your website create a seamless experience across multiple platforms and that your business understand the contextual engagement of the consumer.

So, how is this accomplished?

1. Mobile-friendly is a requirement, not an option.

Google is up to date on the growing mobile trend and prefers websites that are mobile-friendly. Optimize your site by strategically utilizing keywords on your landing pages, create rich meta descriptions and streamline the user experience to elevate your site’s search ranking.

The most common approach is to make your site “mobile-friendly” by adjusting fonts, photos and content to fit various device screens. In addition to this, your marketing strategy must take into account that over half the activity on your site will begin via mobile phone.

The consumer has two avenues; to continue with the sale through smartphone, or start the transaction and switch to another device. Remember the “pick your journey” story books? In the beginning, the book provided options for your reading journey. The end was always the same, no matter what choice was selected. It was the experience that varied. In the same way, the consumer’s experience will vary depending on the platform used and the context in which it is used. The end goal is still the same. Create a pleasant experience across these platforms to encourage the sale of your goods or services.

The mobile platform is now responsible for allowing the consumer to save products or articles on their mobile device and be able to follow up later from another. The transactions are no longer independent from each other.  Instead, one becomes a bridge to the other and vice versa.

2. Sync all local directories

Online directories such as Dex, Yelp and Angie’s List dominate the search engine for contextual searches. These directories are also mobile-friendly which makes the search engines even more bias. Office hours, phone numbers and other important information must be available and consistent across all major directories. Authoritative directories lend credibility to your site regardless of the type of business. Also, consumers generally use some sort of search directory. So this step is just as important for small local businesses that thrive off walk-in sales as it is for larger B2B entities.

3. Define and execute your SEO strategy

Work with your developer to establish your SEO (search engine optimization) thumbprint. Your business is unique and your SEO strategy needs to reflect this individualism. For small companies that rely on walk-in business, this means placing emphasis on keyword relevance by location; i.e. Utah’s best coffee shop. For service based companies like us, we tailor our approach to local, organic traction through social media and maintain our Google Service Business page. For larger businesses, like many of our clients, a global strategy is implemented that centers around a mobile-friendly site and broader keyword strategies.

All together

Multi-screen use is now an integral part of our everyday lives. Create your recipe for success by making your site mobile-friendly and building a customized SEO strategy.