So you may have heard the news; mobile internet traffic is a bit of a big deal.
First thing to say is that this is nothing new.  Internet traffic from mobile phones has been increasing at between 15 – 30% year on year for the majority of websites over the past four or five years.
No matter what business you’re in, whether it’s selling onions or building kitchens, your customers now access your website from their mobile phone.
So with many in the digital industry urging you, if you’ve not already, to get a mobile or responsive website, just how much does your business really need a mobile presence?

What does it mean to you if you don’t have a website that works on mobile?

This is where we use a few analogies.

Example One

Imagine you’ve paid money for a sign writer to put some incredible new branding on your van.  Only problem is the writing runs off the end of the van, including your telephone number so nobody ever calls you.

Example Two

Imagine you’ve been asked to quote for a massive new project.  You’ve put your tender document together but there’s one slight problem.  Microsoft Word has thrown off your page margins meaning that half of your document didn’t quite make it to the printer at the other side of the desk.
You finally sort the margins out and realise you’ve put the wrong font size in and someone needs a high-powered telescopic microscope in order to zoom in and read it.
What these examples are doing is giving their target audience a poor experience, just like your website does if it isn’t responsive or mobile friendly.
The person will need to zoom in on your website, the navigation might not work correctly, the wording will be small.
Is this the image of your company that you want to portray? Does it do you justice? Can you legitimately expect that person to buy from you?

So how do you know just how much trade you’re potentially missing out on?

The good, or the bad news, depending on how you look at it is that you can easily identify how much you really need a mobile presence.  You can do this through your Google Analytics account (if you haven’t already got it you should definitely have it!).
When you visit your account go to your main analytics dashboard and under ‘Audience’ drop down to the ‘Mobile’ section.
What this will give you is a figure of the number of people visiting your site from a mobile device.
Take that number and think that those people are having a bad experience – can you afford that?
Don’t just take that figure in isolation though – go one step further.
Google Analytics will give you the figure for the last 30 days by default.  Change the time parameters to the last three months.  Can you afford that new number in front of you?
Final step – compare the last three months to the three months before it.  Is the figure increasing?  Likelihood is that the number of people visiting your site from their mobile will be on the rise.
This essentially means that as time goes by more and more people will be having a poor experience of your website.  If you’re competitors are giving them a mobile experience to die for is there a realistic expectation that they’re still going to buy from you or contact you instead of them?
The chances are they’re not.
So the question becomes, just how long can you wait?
For more information on how we can build you a website that works and looks great on all devices please give us a call on 01566 784860 or email mark@mihidigital.co.uk