Is Your Site Mobile Ready?
Emily Johnson
With mobile traffic at record-high levels, it is crucial to ensure your website is mobile friendly. Walker Sands’ Quarterly Mobile Traffic Report for Q1 2013 gives insight into the state of mobile web traffic and how to best strategize your mobile presence accordingly. The study has been conducted by Walker Sands on a quarterly basis since the beginning of 2011.
When should your mobile presence be at its strongest?
Walker Sands’ Quarterly Mobile Traffic Report reveals that mobile traffic overall is increasing tremendously year over year, with the largest spike in mobile traffic usually occurring in late Q4, coinciding with the holidays and a spike in mobile phone purchases, according to Daniel Laloggia, Digital Marketing Manager at Walker Sands. Interestingly enough, we also found that mobile traffic growth typically remains stagnant in Q1. So what does this mean for marketers?
“The key takeaway from these findings is to avoid complacency as traffic slows. Although it’s important to improve your mobile website ahead of the holidays to prepare for a spike in traffic, it’s critical to have a strong mobile presence all year,” explains Laloggia. “If a fourth of your visitors can’t access the content they need, they’ll go somewhere else.”
How should you strategize your mobile presence?
Even with mobile traffic remaining stagnant in Q1, it continues to grow significantly year over year. According to study findings, 24 percent of total website traffic came from mobile devices in the beginning of 2013, up 78 percent from the same time in 2012, and 109 percent since 2011.
“Every quarter, our web traffic report has demonstrated a steady increase in the percent of total web traffic originating from mobile devices. When you look at growth over the last two years, it’s clear that mobile shouldn’t be viewed as a separate entity, but rather as a fundamental part of your digital strategy,” said John Fairley, director of web services at Walker Sands. “Just having a mobile website isn’t enough-you need to provide an exceptional experience for users.”
What devices are people using?
The study also looked at website traffic by operating system and device, finding that Apple iOS and Android are the leading sources of mobile traffic. Apple iOS emerged as the leader with 53 percent of total site traffic, followed by Android devices with 42 percent of total site traffic. On the other end, web visits from BlackBerry devices accounted for the lowest portion of mobile traffic-a mere two percent at the end of Q1 2013.
Website visits from iPads realized a growth rate of 85 percent from Q1 2012 to Q1 2013, while the average growth in mobile visits across devices was 93 percent. “Apple and Android devices continue to account for the majority of mobile traffic, despite new device releases from other manufacturers such as Windows and BlackBerry,” added Fairley. “Although website visits from tablets are on the rise, they have kept pace with the growth in traffic from other devices.”
Discovering Your Website’s Mobile Traffic
Want to see how your site stacks up? For a step-by-step guide to determine your own mobile traffic, visit https://www.walkersands.com/determine-how-much-traffic-on-your-website-is-from-mobile/.