Technology never sleeps. If you blink, you may miss the latest and greatest new technological innovation. Today, the “newest and greatest” innovations seem to be centered around mobile devices. Here in 2016, everyone has a smartphone or tablet, and in many cases – both. As the social and technological world advances, so must trends in digital marketing. That is why it is imperative to stay on top of the newest advances in marketing technology, and in our mobile-first world, it may be time to re-evaluate how businesses — as well as marketers — optimize their marketing strategies.
Let’s start with one of the pioneers in the digital world — Google. Google recently held its annual Performance Summit in which they announced how they would be adapting their products to stay current in the ever-adapting mobile-first world. At their summit, Google reported that there were “several trillion” searches done on Google in the last year and that over half of those searches were performed on mobile devices. Now more than ever, consumers are turning to their mobile devices for answers. From a review of a restaurant to directions to that restaurant, consumers are taking advantage of the convenience that mobile devices offer– and Google, as well as most in the marketing world, knows it. With Google leading the way with trends in mobile-marketing development, it is clear that this is the direction that digital marketing must continue in order for businesses to stay relevant in the digital marketplace.
Many marketers and business owners are still clinging to a desktop-first strategy. If they could only see how optimizing websites and advertising strategies to cater to the mobile-first world we live in can pay enormous dividends… With over half of the world’s Google searches being performed on mobile devices, shouldn’t your marketing strategy take that into consideration?
Furthermore, with the consistent increase in mobile searches, it is possible that the time has come to not only cater to but also center our marketing efforts around mobile. If more than half of all searches are coming from mobile devices, shouldn’t that affect our marketing strategy? Perhaps it’s time to not simply account for mobile, but to make mobile the focus.
Fortunately, as consumers have become more mobile-centric, marketing technology has followed suit. One important improvement includes Google’s announcement that AdWords will now be far more mobile-friendly, and roll out several new updates over the next few months. The highlights include more smartphone-friendly ad formats with expanded text options in the description line. This feature will allow marketers to alter ad designs that will run specifically on mobile devices.
As technology advances, we must advance with it. The key to success in digital marketing is staying at the forefront of technology. By staying current on tech, we can get our message out to the most people in the most efficient way possible.
Given the current trend towards a mobile-first society, we should give heavy consideration in adapting our strategies to meet consumers’ needs. Websites need to be optimized for mobile devices if that is where the majority of site clicks will be coming from. If we can adapt to these changes, our marketing efforts should be met with increased success. Contact us if you need more detailed information on any of this or if you’d like to start a mobile-first strategy for your marketing.
