Optimize Your Mobile Website for Speed and Usability
It's happened to all of us at least once before - you click a link to something that someone sent you, and wait for it to load. I Believe and wait. And wait.
But not in the cool way like Gwen Stefani's masterpiece. You end up closing the page because you've already moved on to something else. It's not that you don't care about what your friend is sending you - in fact, it feels like a missed opportunity. That's the sort of experience most brands want to stay away from, but it's more common than we realise.
It's quite unfortunate because websites are often thought of as static designs with a 'one size fits all' approach instead of dynamic evolving creatures. Maybe I'm projecting a bit because I have a soft spot for overly anthropomorphising things, but they're kind of like little digital pets that need constant nourishment and regular health check-ups. In this analogy, if your website is slow or difficult to navigate through, it's not very healthy. If someone's visiting and giving it their attention, but still not able to do the basic things like browse, shop or get support - there's something wrong with the set up.
Optimising your website for both speed and usability will directly affect how potential customers experience it and how far they go through your sales funnel. In my (biased) opinion, your bounce rate could be considered a sort of thermometer for this health check-up. The best place to start would be optimising your images and videos so they're compressed and load faster across different devices.
Mobile testing tools can also help identify where there might be gaps in your website's performance so that designers and developers can fix them quickly and efficiently. Simplify forms or unnecessary pop-ups to make checkout processes less annoying. This only scratches the surface - it's an ongoing process of constantly improving performance across browsers and devices (this is especially true if you update catalogues regularly or work in seasonal cycles). All these changes add up to an easier shopping experience for someone visiting you online - one that encourages them to come back again later.
More or less.
Leverage Social Media for Increased Engagement
Scrolling through social media is sort of like flipping channels at 2am, hoping to stumble upon something vaguely entertaining. But as a brand, it’s also your best shot at making people stop and actually listen. Mobile users spend a heap of time tapping away on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook. And while the temptation might be to post product shots and hope for the best, a little effort goes a long way.
People crave connection and authenticity. That’s what you want to show up as on social. Share behind-the-scenes stuff or other people’s success stories, not just your own.
Have conversations in the comments instead of posting and disappearing. Videos work wonders these days too, especially for short attention spans - which is basically everyone online right now. One thing that’s made my eyes glaze over is the overuse of paid ads or influencer partnerships that aren’t remotely believable.
It has to make sense for someone to be talking about your brand for it to have any effect - otherwise, most people will scroll on by. The internet is an enormous place with a lot of noise so you need to be clever about how you’re breaking through.
Social media doesn’t always have to be about sales either. People can quickly tell when they’re being sold something every single time they interact with you - and it’ll get old fast. Build trust instead and make yourself memorable in other ways so that when people do want to buy something, you’re the first thing they think of.
Implement Mobile-Friendly Payment Solutions
Ain't it annoying when you try to shop online and the checkout process is a bit of a mess. I’ve often found myself abandoning carts, huffing and puffing about how difficult it can be for businesses to optimise for mobile. But it's worth noting that, these days, folks expect to be able to shop from their phones without a hitch. Mobile sales are booming - and there's no sign that it's going to slow down anytime soon.
As the numbers continue to rise, brands are arguably rushing to make sure they're at the front of the queue. And while shopping on mobile isn’t just about setting up your website for different screen sizes, the payment part does require some special attention.
There's a good chance most of your shoppers use Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay and would like an easy time with their purchase. These digital wallets have become quite popular, so it’s fair for shoppers to expect you’d have these options enabled too. For this reason, most e-commerce platforms offer plugins or extensions that support various payment gateways.
These are usually quite easy to set up and affordable as well so you don’t have to break the bank trying to keep up with trends. Also, they tend to be very secure so you don't have to worry about being out of pocket if things go wrong. Many business owners think that’s all there is but adding multiple payment methods is also part of this process.
This caters not only for local customers but international ones as well because credit cards can vary by region - all while increasing customer satisfaction overall. Being able to pay in one's local currency also removes barriers for shoppers who might otherwise hesitate at the sight of foreign currencies. That seems like quite a plus in my book because when people are able to pay easily, they're more likely to buy again - which could also increase customer retention rates for your business.
Utilize Location-Based Marketing Strategies
You’re out for a wander - through the city, maybe it’s a bush walk, or a quick coffee run during your lunch break. Then you get a notification on your phone, inviting you to check out an exclusive limited-time offer at a store that just happens to be in the direction you’re heading. Now if you’re anything like me, you probably don’t think too much about it. But here’s the thing - what just happened is called location-based marketing and it’s proven to be quite the tool.
In a time where people are fairly spending less time on their desktops and more time browsing on their phones, sales notifications based on someone’s current location can potentially make all the difference when it comes to conversion rates. Location-based marketing, or geolocation targeting as it is sometimes known, is one of those things that works really well when done right and ends up being nothing more than spam if done wrong. It goes back to consumer behaviour and understanding how to connect with them at a point where they are most likely to convert. And while this might sound fairly intrusive, with the right approach your brand can use this tactic to become far more visible online.
It begins with understanding your audience and tracking consumer behaviour patterns in the past. For example, is there a particular time of day that sees more orders.
Or maybe there’s an increase in foot traffic around your store around lunchtime. Timing matters too - someone who gets an offer for burgers at 11:30am might be far more likely to respond than someone who gets that same offer at 4pm. With something as specific as this, finding that line between helpful and invasive is important.
Mobile users expect a certain amount of customisation but also have certain expectations of privacy from brands they share their data with. A way around this can be creating personalised campaigns for customers who have shared their geolocations voluntarily. The good news is, that if you do manage to convince someone to provide access to their location data, there’s already intent on their part to buy what you’re selling. This makes the entire process that much easier for everyone involved.
Create Compelling Mobile Content and Offers
You’re scrolling through your phone during a late tram ride home. Maybe you’re bored or maybe you saw a clever video, but you look up twenty minutes later with a new bottle of shampoo on its way and you don’t quite remember what happened in between. You’ve fallen for the compelling content trap and it’s not a bad thing. The way I see it, nor is presumably it necessarily new behaviour.
We’re just creatures of habit, as much in our online lives as in the real world. Mobile-first design isn’t enough when it comes to strengthening your mobile presence. As much as people appreciate a website that’s as easy to browse on their phones as it is comparatively on their desktops, they seem to like incentives even more. And if there’s one thing that social media apps and search engines have figured out, it’s that people go online looking for entertainment and information.
Give them both - be entertaining and informative while also offering discounts or free gifts. Take advantage of interactive features across platforms - let your customers engage with your products while they learn about them.
Turn purchases into tiny victories, with cashback rewards or additional offers for referring friends and family to shop with you. Recognise loyal customers with even more exclusive offers to keep them feeling valued and wanting more. All of this begins with seamless design - I think the average person has about five seconds’ worth of patience when an offer pops up on their screen before exiting out of it entirely if it’s not engaging enough or simply takes too long to load. Advertising is getting smarter every day so there are more and more channels everyday for people to discover new brands that offer exactly what they need at the exact time they need them so don’t fall behind what could be an exciting race.
If anything, make sure you’re coming up with ways to stand out. Sort of.
Analyze Mobile Analytics to Drive Improvements
Ever had one of those days where it feels like everyone's on their phone - except they seem to be skipping right past your carefully crafted website. Well, it might be time to have a peek under the hood. Diving into the analytics can offer up all sorts of insights that can help you get more eyes on your site, and more bums in your seats (or at the very least, more people buying whatever it is seldom you're selling). I Think What I think is quite nifty about analytics is that it means you don't have to guess what's going on.
In fact, you can look at exactly what people are doing when they're on your site, how long they're spending there, and when they decide to make an exit. It seems like you might find that everyone is typically getting stuck on the same page or call to action. If that's the case then it's probably time for a bit of a refresh. The only thing better than knowing what's not working, is knowing what is.
Analytics can help you figure out exactly what people like about your site so you can do more of that - and hopefully attract more customers in the process. By having a regular trawl through the analytics you'll be able to make little tweaks here and there that will keep things fresh. It's all about keeping track of what works for your mobile audience.