“It doesn’t do any good to sit up and take notice, if all you do is keep on sitting.”

“The very best marketing comes from observing consumer behavior and inserting your message into their behavior.” 

eMarketer released a report today – “USMobile Ad Dollars Shift to Search Apps” – that shows that several marketers are certainly taking this to heart – at Google’s expense. 

It is no secret that Google has owned the Search category on desktops “forever” with a share of voice in the mid-60’s.  And as the consumer moved over to mobile devices, Google was at the forefront of mobile search.  In 2012 it was estimated that Google had a +82% share of the mobile search market.  eMarketer is reporting that Google’s mobile share has dropped to 68% in 2013 and much of this decline has occurred because of a shift in the behavior of mobile consumers. 

Part of this shift is occurring because of the increased use of mobile apps for search.  They are projecting that apps like Yelp are taking a bite out of Google’s dominance.

“App-based searching is a new phenomenon that pales in comparison with the longstanding practice of querying a search engine, and the degree to which mobile users rely on both methods for finding information is unclear,” Boyle added. “Still, in light of the growing popularity and time spent with apps, search marketers that recognize this behavior and focus on increasing visibility within apps aligned to their industry and business objectives will be best positioned to connect with the largest number of mobile users.”

The desktop versus mobile web site debate is dead.  While it is not time to abandon the desktop web site, as mobile traffic grows, it is time for businesses to quick “thinking” and “start doing” something about web sites that are not mobile friendly.  Personally, I can’t imagine designing a web site that fails to support the soon to be largest segment of web traffic (mobile) and segment that is growing (mobile).  It is the equivalent of building a web site that doesn’t support English.

“But I have all this money sunk into my legacy web site and it will cost a large/medium/small fortune to convert it to mobile responsive.”  And I have a closet full of double breasted suits and wide/skinny ties.  It doesn’t matter… 

Last month I analyzed the web sites of 20 clients/prospects.  17 of them do not have a mobile enabled web site. 

·       Overall 30% of web traffic now comes from a mobile device.  For many businesses the amount of mobile traffic is already more than 50% (ask someone in the news media).

·       56% of American adults are now smartphone owners.  

·       By 2015, 81% of U.S. cell users will have smartphones

·       Smartphones outsell desktop computers and have since the 4^th quarter of 2011.

·       By the end of 2013, there will be more mobile devices on Earth than people.

·       48% use or would like to use a smartphone to shop while in-store or on the go.

·       Time spent with mobile apps starting to challenge television: consumers are spending 127 minutes per day in mobile apps–up 35 percent from 94 minutes a day in the same time last year–and spend 168 minutes watching television per day.

·       Mobile searches related to restaurants have a conversion rate of 90% with 64% converting within the hour

 

Need +100 more reasons to stop thinking and start acting, click here - Mobile Industry Statistics

 “It doesn’t do any good to sit up and take notice, if all you do is keep on sitting.”