Bretts Marketing Bytes

Happy New Year  everyone!  I hope you are  ready for 2010.  In this post we will explore the phenomenon that is to take place this year in the world of mobile web browsing.

“Mobile browsing now accounts for 1.3% of all web browsing and is rising at a rapid rate, according to the latest figures released by NetApplicatoins.”

2010 is going to be the year for mobile websites. With the advances in mobile devices like the Droid and an increasing number of iphone users, soon you will be faced with the question of whether your company should have a mobile website or not.

There are two schools of thought on this subject.

One states that mobile browsers are becoming so advanced, you do not need to create a mobile site for them to be rendered correctly. An example of this is how the iphone and Droid render regular websites so nicely. However,  most of us that have one of these devices would agree that it is a lot easier to navigate a website when it is tailored for a mobile device.  This is where the second school of thought comes into play.

The second school of thought states that a mobile friendly site has less graphics, less code, and is less busy than a regular website. Thus making it easier to navigate, and load faster on a mobile device. As mobile broadband becomes better, load times may not be as big of an issue, but why make it any harder than it has to be for a customer to purchase or contact you? The faster your site loads the less customers you will lose to lag time.

If you couldn’t tell, I tend to agree with the second school of thought. This is because I think a site should be brought down the the lowest denominator for the best user experience. By doing this you are limiting your chances of losing customers to things such as;  lag time, poor navigation  or not having the correct screen size for mobile devices.

I recently read an extensive report that showcased the current and future use of mobile Internet.

We are now in the “early innings” of the development of the mobile internet, according to a recent report from investment group Morgan Stanley, after the evolution of the PC and the desktop internet.

“As 3G adoption hits inflection points in many markets, consumers are flocking to a broad range of IP- based usage models over powerful mobile Internet- enabled devices. We predict that smartphones will out-ship the global notebook and netbook market in 2010E and out-ship the global PC market (notebook and netbook and desktop) by 2012E,” the report’s authors said.

Still not convinced? Below are some reasons you should think about having a mobile website in 2010.

1. 93% of U.S. adults own a cell phone.
2. Mobile web will overtake the desktop within 5 years.
3. $1.6 billion purchased from mobile devices in 2009.
4. Mobile advertising spending will surpass $6.5 billion in 2012.
5. Your regular website is not going to cut it for the small screens and mobile bandwidth.
6. Mobile sites are indexed separately than regular sites in Google.
   

It is no secret that mobile web browsing is only gaining momentum. Right now we are past the point of the early adopters phase as this year  the growth of mobile users is predicted to surpass 2009 by 10%.

My company(Zoodle Marketing Group) is currently working on our mobile website design. It is set to launch before mid February this year.  However, throughout last year we have been working with many of our customers to put together a plan for their mobile websites. Most of which will launch in the first quarter of this year.

If you haven’t put a mobile website into your  marketing plan for 2010, I would suggest you reconsider. It is going to be the year for mobile growth. Get in the game and get a head of your competition.

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