If your business is looking to maximize leads, then it is time to start thinking about how consumers are searching for your business. You should ask yourself “Can our customers easily access our company’s content and contact information from a smartphone?” If not, you could be missing out on potential sales.

In the past, it may have been enough to have an online presence, but today it’s increasingly important to ensure your online offerings are designed to be mobile-friendly. Unconvinced? Consider the following mobile usage statistics demonstrating the rise of mobile adoption and how it is changing the way shoppers make purchases.

• Almost half of American adults are Smartphone owners. With US Smartphone ownership at 46%, Smartphone users now outnumber those who use basic cell phones (41%).
• Smartphone adoption is on the rise in nearly all demographics, with the highest growth among 18-35 year olds, college graduates, and those with household incomes of $75,000 or more.
• The tablet market is also growing rapidly, with US tablet and e-book reader ownership jumping from 10% in August 2011 to 19% following the holiday season.
• Smartphone users are more likely to buy from retailers with mobile-optimized sites. Mobile consumers are looking for a hassle-free mobile experience and 51% of Smartphone owners said they were more likely to purchase from a business with a mobile-friendly site. A strong mobile site has the power to drive action, while a site that is hard to navigate or read will only drive customers away.
• When faced with mobile site difficulty, 40% of consumers said they will go to a competitor’s website and 19% said that a negative mobile site experience creates an unfavorable overall impression of the company.
• 62.4 million Americans access Facebook via their mobile device each month, with 38.2 million of these respondents stating that they use their phones to connect to social media almost every day. It is not only for catching up with friends either.
• Nearly 60% of respondents use Facebook via their mobile device to read updates of organizations, brands, or events. An additional 37.2% stated that they use social networks to receive coupons and deals, and 32.3% click on social mobile advertisements. Businesses have an opportunity to create engagement by using Facebook and capturing the attention of on-the-go consumers by posting relevant updates and offers.

Do you know what your company’s website looks like to mobile searchers? Are you making the most of your mobile online presence? Don’t risk losing potential customers by making them struggle with your page design. Optimizing your online presence can help increase your leads and improve the overall customer experience for your brand.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, an infographic is worth a million.  Below is one that highlights the key statistics surrounding mobile search, like the percentage of businesses with mobile sites, the percentage of mobile search by category, and the time to ad spend comparison in mobile and other types of media.

Interested in finding out more? Contact us today!

Rebecca Frantz, Marketing Research Assistant