Do you know what your website looks like on a mobile phone? Just because you can see your site on a smartphone doesn't mean that it’s mobile-friendly. So, what is a mobile-friendly site? It’s a website designed specifically for mobile users and mobile devices. It’s fast to load and easy to use—no scrolling or zooming required.

The mobile opportunity is growing. Recent research [Ipsos study] suggests that smartphone ownership is quickly on the rise in the UK, jumping from 30% in Jan-Feb 2011 to 45% in Sept-Oct 2011. And those smartphone owners use their devices to search for information. Google mobile searches grew 400% in the last two years. Yet many British businesses still do not have a mobile website.

As 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site that they had trouble accessing from their phone and 40% of consumers would go to a competitor’s site, businesses need to get mobile in order not to miss out on customers who specifically search for their products or services.

The most important thing you can do to grow your business using the mobile web is to create a mobile-friendly website. So today we’re launching an initiative called GetMo that provides tools, information and resources to help UK businesses “Get Mobile”

So, are you ready to GetMo? Visit howtogetmo.com where you’ll find the resources you need to learn about what makes a good mobile site and how to start building one.

Here’s what you’ll find at howtogetmo.com:

• See what your customers see. Enter a website address into the GetMoMeter and see what your site looks like on a mobile phone. The GetMoMeter will analyse your site and give you customised recommendations on how to make your site more mobile-friendly. You can even download a free customised report on how to better serve your customers mobile experience!
  
• Learn about why mobile matters: Great infographics and the latest data will help you learn more about mobile trends and why mobile-friendly sites really matter.
• Get inspired by great examples: Look at the mobile sites of UK businesses who are doing it well and learn how to make your site better with our ten mobile site best practices.
• Find a mobile site builder who can help: Check out our list of mobile site developers who can help you build your mobile website.

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Product Marketing Manager

Cross-post from Googlemobileads Blog

Yesterday we shared some topline insights into consumers’ love affair with their smartphones and why businesses must fall in love with mobile in 2012. Today we go deeper into key findings on mobile consumer behavior in six countries - USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Japan - from the new “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” research we conducted in January 2012 with Ipsos.

Consumers love multi-tasking while using their mobile phones

• In general Americans are the biggest mobile multi-taskers, with 81% having used their smartphone while engaging with other media.
• 54% of UK smartphone users watched TV while engaging with their smartphone.
• 36% of Spaniards exhibit true multi-screen behavior as they use their smartphones while also using another internet connected device such as their computer.

This offline media consumption causes consumers to search on their smartphones

• Across most of these six markets, roughly 60% of smartphone users are searching because of an ad they’ve seen offline or in a store.
• Smartphone owners in Spain lead the way in searching as a result of seeing an offline ad. More than two-thirds (68%) search because of something they saw offline, with 62% searching as a result of something they saw on TV.
• Half of German smartphone users (49%) have searched because of something they’ve seen in a store, and one-third (34%) of French smartphone users have searched on their mobile due to an ad they’ve seen in a magazine.

More than 90% of global smartphone users are searching on mobile, making it a truly mainstream behavior

• 99% of smartphone users in Japan have used a search engine on mobile. This means that practically everyone who’s gone online on mobile has searched on their phone.
• Mobile search is a frequent activity. In most of these six countries more than 75% of smartphone Internet users search at least once a week.

Consumers Take Action After Looking for Local Information

• 92% of Americans use their smartphones to look for information about local businesses or services.
• Local information seekers take action. 81% of French smartphone users who’ve looked for local information then acted on it with a quarter (26%) having called the business and 43% having visited the business.
• Globally, 1 out 5 smartphone users in all six countries made a purchase after looking for local information, whether in-store or online.

One quarter of global smartphone Internet users have made a purchase on their smartphone

• Japan leads the way in mobile commerce with 40% of smartphone Internet users having made a purchase on their phone. One third of Americans (34%) and approximately a quarter of those in the European countries have made a purchase.
• Mobile shoppers are frequent purchasers. Across all markets, more than 50% of those who’ve made a mobile purchase do so at least on a monthly basis. In Spain, 64% of mobile shoppers make a purchase at least monthly, with 15% purchasing on a weekly basis.

Smartphones Influence Consumer Purchase Decisions & Channels

• Nearly one in four (26%) French smartphone owners say they intentionally have their mobile with them to compare prices and get product information. And the French say they have changed their mind about purchasing something in-store (19%) or online (17%) as a result of information they gathered on their smartphone.
• Smartphone research also leads to purchases online and offline. 37% of UK smartphones Internet users have bought something online and 26% of German smartphone users have made a purchase offline in-store or over the phone after having researched something via their smartphone.

These insights into mobile consumer behavior have clear implications for businesses. The companies that make mobile central to their marketing strategies will have an advantage in engaging with the mobile consumer. Savvy advertisers should adopt integrated marketing campaigns to take advantage of consumers’ natural multi-tasking media behavior. Businesses should also develop cross-channel strategies that make use of mobile as a bridge between the online and offline world as consumers shop and look for local information.

Download the “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” report to learn more about mobile consumer behavior and smartphone usage in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Japan.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

Over 60% of 16-34 year olds use their mobile to connect to the internet so it has never been more important for your site to be mobile friendly. To help with this Google has created GOMO, an initiative to mobilize your site.

GOMO contains:

• “GoMoMeter” to see how a business's existing site looks on a smartphone and to learn how to make it better.
• Best practices for mobile sites
• Current mobile trends and projections
• Case studies

The site also has a GoMo Agency Guide with the information you need to help your clients understand why this is such an important opportunity, including:

• Understanding the Constantly Connected Consumer
• 10 Mobile Best Practices
• Client Q & A
• Tools & Resources

Take a look, enjoy and sign up here for news and more...

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

In June, we shared some research from the US market looking into the user behaviour of smartphone owners in our post Understanding smartphone consumers. This month, we are pleased to share the UK version of the study.

As with the previous study, the key objectives were to understand:

• How smartphones are typically used on a day-to-day basis

• What other activities consumers carry out while using their smartphones

• The types of information they are searching for on mobile

• How smartphone consumers are using their devices to help them make their purchase decisions

• How receptive they are to mobile ads.

More than half of UK smartphone owners use their device every day to go online. They have become so attached to their little pocket PCs that more than one in five claim that they would sooner give up their TV than their smartphone!

As you would expect, a large proportion of smartphone users (89%) access the internet while they are out and about. What is slightly more surprising is that an even larger proportion (98%) are using their device to go online while they are at home.

As with their trans-Atlantic counterparts, some of the most popular smartphone uses among UK smartphone owners include passing the time when waiting (65%) and finding information quickly (52%), as well as being used as a "kind of modern accessory" (48%).

Increasingly, smartphone owners are using their mobiles to assist with their purchase decisions. More than 50% make a purchase based on information which they obtained from a smartphone. Further, 81% looked for local information with nearly a third of these local information seekers going on to make a purchase.

When it comes to mobile advertising, 87% of smartphone owners recall seeing a mobile ad. However, 83% of top UK advertisers do not have a site optimised for mobile. It is important that advertisers build a good mobile user experience as 28% of smartphone owners have taken action after having been exposed to a mobile ad. More specifically:

• 44% have clicked on a mobile ad

• 33% have visited the advertiser's site

• 32% have made a purchase.

If you are interested in learning more about UK smartphone users, please watch our short video here or download the full study here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Cross-post from the Google Mobile Ads blog

When Unilever launched it’s new Lynx Excite product, they commissioned simple but powerful advertising creative. The video ads promoted a fragrance so irresistible it causes angels to fall from the sky. Unilever knew from the start that they wanted the film to work across a variety of formats, reaching not just TV viewers but also cinema visitors and mobile users.

For the mobile component of the Lynx Excite campaign, they were immediately drawn to the AdMob platform. AdMob enables advertisers to engage with mobile users across mobile platforms to maximize reach with their target audience.



In order to provide the most engaging experience possible for mobile users, Unilever built a robust HTML5 mobile landing page for the campaign. Mobile banner ads led users to an extended advertising experience, where a rotating halo enabled navigation through the microsite. A visitor could view the television ad, see exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and enjoy interactive features including tips, tricks and tools.

Through AdMob, the ads achieved results that far surpassed expectations. In all, 149 million impressions were served and 690,000 unique visitors accessed the content. On all devices, users spent approximately two minutes actively engaging with the Lynx brand storytelling. In terms of this phenomenal reach and high levels of engagement, the mobile advertising achieved unprecedented results for Unilever.

Posted by Vicky Homan, Google Mobile Ads Marketing Team

Are you interested in learning more about what the future of mobile holds for consumers and marketers? If you answered "yes", then please take the opportunity to watch our Think Mobile event which will be streamed live on Wednesday 29th June at 2pm.

Here is a brief overview of the event:

The rise of the mobile web represents one of the most dramatic consumer behavior transformations in history. Today’s smartphone users are searching, browsing and “app-ing” more, and the pace of this growth is only increasing. What does this mean for today’s and tomorrow’s marketers? Watch and find out as Rory Sutherland Vice-President of Ogilvy, Charles Dunstone, Founder and CEO of Carphone Warehouse and Ian Carrington, Mobile Advertising Sales Director Google discuss mobile’s global industry, the future of mobile, and why marketers need to reshape their strategies to reach the always-connected, “mobilized” consumer.

The full agenda can be found here.

You can access the live stream from the Google Think Mobile YouTube channel or from your Android or iPhone here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

We are pleased to share a brand new piece of research from the US market which looks into the user behaviour of smartphone owners. The study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of:

• How smartphones are used on a day to day basis

• How consumers are multi-tasking with their smartphones

• Typical searches made on smartphones

• How smartphone consumers are using their devices to help them make their purchase decisions

• Whether they are receptive to mobile ads.

The study illustrates the importance of role the that smartphones now play within the everyday lives of many consumers. Nearly 9 out 10 smartphone owners use their devices throughout the day for a variety of activites ranging from using search engines to find information, to watching videos. They have become so entrenched in our lives that 43% of smartphone owners say that they would prefer to give up beer instead of internet access on their smartphone.

Unsurprisingly, using the smartphone is an incredibly popular time-killer with nearly 60% claiming to use their smartphones while waiting, for example, in a queue at a supermarket or for a bus.

Smartphone users are also becoming increasingly reliant on their devices for shopping assistance with 70% of smartphone consumers using their devices while shopping in-store.

In terms of advertising, smartphone users are not only noticing mobile ads, they are receptive to them. 82% notice ads on their smartphones, half of which take action. However, it is not only mobile ads prompting action. Mobile search is often prompted by cross media exposure. Over two thirds of smartphone owners have carried out a search on their smartphone as a result of traditional media.

If you found these insights interesting and would like to learn more about the smartphone consumer, please download the full study here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to creating internet solutions that make networks and communication possible. As a hi-tech b2b vendor, Cisco is accustomed to working behind the scenes, but the organisation wanted to further strengthen ties with IT and business decision makers from small and medium-sized businesses.

Mobile advertising is becoming increasingly viable as smartphone prices drop, networks get faster, data packages become cheaper and mobile services and social media adoption rates rise.

With a view to improving brand awareness and engagement, Cisco wanted to drive traffic to the European Cisco Mobile websites, aiming for mobile search traffic to make up 5% of total mobile website traffic. Cisco launched a mobile search engine marketing (SEM) campaign to complement its natural (or ‘organic’) search traffic from mobile platforms.

Cisco’s AdWords for Mobile campaign generated steady traffic volumes, with keywords in the Brand, Mobility and Network Technology areas producing the highest traffic volumes. One-word phrases delivered 70% of the clicks with two-word phrases at 30% and three-word phrases less than 1%. The click-through rate achieved the industry average at 0.5%.

This campaign represents an industry first for Cisco: the ‘always-on’ campaign is something that none of its closest competitors are currently executing. Overall, this proved a cost-efficient method of driving traffic and raising awareness of the Cisco mobile websites.

Please find the case study here.

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team