Member Article

Your real estate site needs to go mobile

Unless you have been living on a remote desert island for the last couple of years, you will have noticed that the vast majority of people are now using smartphones and tablets. We use them for virtually everything, an order pad in restaurants, remote control for our televisions and other home appliances, we even use them as a ticket/boarding pass for airlines. With all the latest apps and technology available, it’s not difficult to see that we are going to use them more and more.

Smart devices are now more capable than they ever were before, and one thing is abundantly clear, surfing the internet, responding to emails, connecting with others on social media and online shopping has being taken over by mobile.

Mobile devices are here and they are here to stay, so WHY have so many estate agents not yet changed their websites to be MOBILE FRIENDLY (Responsive)?

The use of smart phones and tablets is increasing at a phenomenal rate, therefore you must understand that it is extremely important that your website is mobile friendly.

Previously websites were designed for the desktop computers and portable laptops, and a secondary site was created for mobile users. However today we must have a website that is optimised for all devices – desktops, tablets and, mobiles. Oh yes and also we need to take into consideration the different operating systems such as Apple’s iOS and Samsungs Android.

So, Why does your real estate site needs to go mobile? Google Recommends it!

Google is the world’s number 1 search engine and if they say do it, you really should as “they” Google will and do penalise sites rankings if it doesn’t comply with their latest algorithms and demands. Google recommends Responsive Web Design and it puts an emphasis on mobile optimised sites and sites that receive mobile searches. This is especially true when mobile users are searching for local services and today more searches are taking place using mobile devices than that of desktops.

One Website, Multiple Devices

Providing a great user-experience across multiple devices and screen sizes is the most appealing and most critical aspects of responsive web design for today’s uber mobile world. Take the following example. I search for a property on my smartphone during a break at work. I then continue researching this product on the same site on my desktop when I get home.

Google prefers a single Responsive Web Site that a site that has a desktop version and a mobile version. It is simpler for the little google bots and spiders to crawl one URL that two or three or more.

Google have 67.4% percent of the search market share, so when Google speaks, the world of web professionals listen. Google have clearly stated that responsive web design is the industry best practice.

Google is now placing online user-experience as a major ranking factor and this is essential to take into account with regards to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

A key discovery – Search is the most common starting point for mobile research. 48% of users start on search engines, 33% start on branded websites, and 26% start on branded apps.

77% of mobile searches are in a location where people likely have a PC available to them, such as home or work.

A Fast Responsive Website is Key

A web page page on a mobile or tablet device should load in under 1 – 2 seconds according to Google PageSpeed Developers standards. This is less likely to happen when it is loading a site purely developed for desktop. I can tell you that most people don’t wait long before they close the window and go to the next site on the search list.

Studies show that a one second delay in page load time equals 11% fewer page views, a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction, and 7% loss in conversions. A decrease in load time can make a big impact on your business.

The Full Value of Mobile

Customers’ constant connectivity through mobile has created new paths to purchase that start on their smartphones. As a marketer, it is key that you account for all these new types of conversion and understand the return on investment you’re getting from your mobile efforts.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Joe Graham .