Creating an Effective Mobile Site For AdWords

Mobile devices are overtaking desktop devices as the primary means by which users search the web and shop online. Learn how to create an effective mobile website to promote with AdWords.

Though you can and should make the ads in your campaigns effective across all platforms, a great ad is next to useless without a website designed to handle traffic from mobile devices. Having a site which is ergonomical for mobile users will provide your business with the ability to reach a larger base of potential customers, and will make it more likely that traffic to your site will lead to meaningful conversions/ROI.

How to Create an Effective Mobile Website for AdWords

How does one make a mobile-friendly site? Let’s get started today with some basic, general tips to make your site better for mobile users.

There are three things your mobile site should strive to be:

Easy to use,
Quick to Load,
Simple to navigate.

Easy to Use

When trying to make a mobile site that is easy to use, think of your own experiences with websites on your smartphone or tablet. If you see an ad or search result that seems interesting, click on it, and are led to a page that takes an eternity to load, is bogged down with a complicated navigation interface, and has tap targets so tiny or large that they are impossible to interact with, chances are you will leave the site before doing anything meaningful for the business who owns and operates it.

Users prefer a mobile site with a clear, inviting interface. They want you to take into account the smaller screen dimensions of mobile devices and size tap inputs and search fields, as well as text and other content, appropriately.

Nothing is more frustrating on a smartphone or tablet’s screen than having to spend multiple seconds adjusting the screen size just to see what you’re supposed to be looking at.

Additionally, try to make it clear and easy for users to interact with your site. Set a clear, simple path for them to follow toward the ultimate end of a potential conversion. You can achieve this through the use of large, obvious and inviting calls to action, such as a “Buy Now!” button. This will ground your user’s experience in a set path, keeping them from having to wonder what they need to do to sign up for your service, make a purchase, or anything else you might want them to do.

Simple to Navigate

It is all too easy for a mobile experience to get bogged down by needlessly complicated navigation interfaces, extraneous pages of content, and other unnecessary “filler.” When designing your page, decide what your objective is for the mobile site, and dedicate the entirety of the page’s content toward that objective.

Easy to navigate mobile websites are important for AdWords success/ROI.

Is this landing page meant to inform the user? Have it link to your “about us” page. Did the user just click on an ad selling Yamaha Motorcycles for under $5,000? Bet your bottom dollar they’ll be expecting to be led to a page which features exactly that, and makes it easy for them to make a purchase.

Make sure to also keep forms you want the user to fill out short and to the point, as well as to use bulleted points instead of blocks of text wherever possible. If you eliminate content from your mobile site which does not help the customer find what they are looking for as simply and quickly as possible, your mobile site, and your business, will perform much better.

Quick to Load

One of the most important factors in running any website, but especially a mobile site, is speed. Users on mobile devices typically are on the go, or using their device during a limited space of free time such as in between classes for a student, or during a break for someone with a full-time career.

Because of this, users expect mobile sites to load and appear on their screens with lightning speed. The longer you make a user wait for your page, the bigger the chance that they will click out or close their browser altogether, abandoning your website and costing you a potential customer.

Fast loading mobile websites are important for AdWords success/ROI.

Because of this, it is strongly recommended that you do everything you can to get your site’s load time down to as low as possible. A very easy way to accomplish this is compressing image and video files on your mobile site. Keep a watchful eye on monitoring your site’s speed, take advantage of every opportunity to make it even faster. In this age of instant gratification, people get apathetic or even worse, annoyed toward your business the longer you make them wait. Remember my fellow business people: time is money.

By tweaking your website to be responsive and friendly to mobile users, you can get even more out of your Google AdWords investment and reach more customers than ever on the devices which are becoming more popular every day.