One more reason to make sure your site is mobile-friendly…
According to research conducted recently by Marin Software, by the end of this year 40% of all clicks on Google’s product listing ads (or PLAs) will be made on smartphones.
The company’s ‘The State of Google Shopping’ report also predicts that by this point most online retailers will dedicate a third of their pay-per-click advertising budgets on these product listing ads.
Product listing ads appear above the main search results on Google when a user searches for a term that is relevant to products registered in the retailer’s account. They display a picture of the product alongside its name, price and the name of the retailer. The ads are actually paid for on a ‘cost-per-action’ basis, so the retailer only pays when a product is actually purchased following a click-through from the PLAs.
The potential of these ads for e-commerce is undeniable and the fact that retailers only have to pay for conversions makes it an attractive option. But with almost half of PLA click-throughs expected to come from mobile devices, retailers had better make sure that their sites are optimised for mobile – or risk missing out on potential sales.
Is your site fit for mobile?
Once a user clicks on a PLA they are taken straight through to the associated page on the retailer’s website. If this is well laid out, easy to navigate and effectively a seamless experience, the chances of a sale are greatly increased. But even in 2014, some businesses are still providing a sub-standard mobile experience. Common problems include pages displayed at the wrong resolution and size so users have to scroll both horizontally and vertically, text which is too small, and pages/images that take too long to load.
There are two approaches to making sure your website displays properly on mobiles:
1. Create a separate mobile-optimised site in addition to your regular site
or
2. Use responsive web design to automatically adjust your website to account for screen sizes, resolutions etc. according to what device is being used to access the site.
Whichever method you use, be sure to carry out tests to check that your website is functioning exactly as you want it to when users click through.
