When planning a PPC strategy, we must take into account the variety of digital devices from which our target audience will be impacted by ads (desktop computer, digital tablet, mobile phone, smart TV, etc.).
Today, there are more than 5 billion internet users, and increasingly, they are using mobile devices to browse and shop online. There is a battle between mobile and desktop that digital marketers must be aware of in order to be more precise when designing and launching their campaigns.
According to StatCounter, these are some of the most relevant general statistics from this face-to-face of digital devices:
-
In 2015, mobile traffic was only 31%, and even then, website owners were struggling to make their pages responsive and serve mobile users well.
-
Today, mobile traffic share is 54%, surpassing desktop computers (43%) and tablets (2%).
Experts predicted that mobile internet would eventually overtake desktop computing, and it seems their predictions were right.
And what does this usage look like at the regional level? Do all markets behave the same way? Not at all. Below we share some interesting statistics:
-
US: Web traffic is nearly 49% on mobile vs. 48% on desktop.
-
Canada: Unlike the US, Canada prefers desktop computers, with 56% usage versus nearly 39% mobile usage.
-
South America: South America is at 50% for mobile usage and close to 49% for desktop usage.
-
Europe: Across Europe, traffic continues to come from desktop devices at nearly 51%TP3T, but mobile is close behind at 46%TP3T.
-
Africa: In Africa, mobile phones far outnumber desktop computers, with 64% and almost 34% respectively.
-
Asia: Mobile usage is also very high in Asia, at nearly 64%, while desktop usage is only 34%.
-
Oceania: In countries like Australia and New Zealand, mobile internet usage lags behind, at just 42%, while desktop internet usage is at 53%.
-
India: India has extremely high mobile traffic, with around 74%, compared to only 26% of desktop usage.
With this data in mind, optimizing mobile PPC campaigns is a critical step that will ensure increased ROI. Here are the four most important keys to keep in mind:
KEY#1: RESPONSIVE DESIGN
All campaign assets, from creatives to banners, as well as the landing pages themselves, must be designed to be mobile-friendly and automatically adjust to the device's screen size. Our recommendation is always to approach the design with a mobile-first mindset, that is, always designing for mobile devices first, and then adapting the design to larger screens. This way, no essential information will be penalized due to lack of space.
KEY#2: SIMPLICITY AND CONCRETION
Mobile screens are much smaller than desktop screens, so it's important to keep landing page copy concise and to the point. It's also important to put extra effort into the user experience and use headlines and bullet points that break up text to make it easier to read and understand your messages.
KEY#3: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CALL EXTENSIONS
We must always remember the primary use of the device we're focusing on. In the case of mobile, it's (or at least was) the call. Make it easy to reach your business by using call extensions in your ads. A user is more likely to call from a mobile device than to fill out a form.
KEY#4: TEST YOUR CAMPAIGNS AND MONITOR SPECIFIC KPI'S
Make sure you test your campaigns on different mobile models to ensure they work and display correctly. Also, test your landing pages on mobile to ensure they load quickly and are easy to navigate. When tracking campaign metrics, remember to always look at mobile-specific KPIs such as mobile CTR, mobile conversion rate, and mobile bounce rate. Analyze this data to optimize your mobile campaigns and make any necessary adjustments.
There are many parameters that affect the success of a digital campaign. The more insights we have into our users' behavior, the better we can fine-tune our settings. Understanding the types of devices our brand is used to consume is essential to optimizing its return on investment. Thanks to analytics, you have access to all this valuable data. Take advantage of it!
At PSDigitals, we help you get the most out of your marketing performance data to make the best decisions for your business. Write to us at [email protected] and let's take a look at your metrics!
