Reputation Defense – Working With Mobile

The number of users that access the internet through their mobile devices has considerably increased in the last few years. Website owners, web designers and reputation management professionals already know that the future of the internet is mobile. Actually, specialists predict that mobile internet access will outperform desktop internet use in less than two years.

However, very few websites have adapted to the trend of mobile internet use. Most of them have been designed for desktop browsers without being optimized for mobile use. We all know how frustrating it can be to use our phone to find information on a webpage that has not been properly optimized: the text is small, the buttons alike, and, without scrolling and zooming forever, the information we need is impossible to find. Not many internet users have the patience to search for information on such websites. Most of them click the back button if they cannot find what they are looking for in the first 5 seconds.

What about your company’s website? Is it mobile optimized? And how does this affect your online reputation? It is often the case that mobile users leave a company’s official website because it is not mobile friendly enough, and click on another website where they can find interesting information on the company much more easily. Unfortunately, the latter could be a forum where a frustrated customer or employee expresses their anger or dissatisfaction concerning the company. If they want to avoid such situations, website owners should become aware of the importance of optimizing their website for mobile access, taking into account the differences between mobile users and traditional desktop users.

“Internet users are the same, just their devices differ” – is it really so?

The fact that mobile internet users and desktop users have the same characteristics is a big misconception. Mobile internet access is, in fact, a different experience than traditional internet access. First, the needs of mobile internet users are influenced by the fact that they are on the move, and they have to find useful information extremely fast. Second, mobile search results might be considerably different from PC search results, and one factor that has a major say in this is the user’s location. Depending on where they are, the browsing experience of mobile users can be extremely different. If they do not take these differences into consideration when optimizing their websites, companies risks receiving a serious blow to their online reputation.

Mobile reputation defense solutions

Adapting a website to the demands of mobile internet users is crucial for online reputation management. One of the simplest solutions available would be designing a whole new mobile website for the company and attracting mobile users to this one, instead of the traditional landing page. This solution is simple, but not very elegant. A better alternative would be separating HTML depending on the type of device used to access the company’s page. However, managing two websites could be a difficult thing to do. Google’s preferred solution is redesigning the whole website so that CSS changes the look of the pages depending on the size of the screen.

Optimizing a website for mobile experience is a basic and critical step in defending your online reputation. A mobile friendly site prevents users from leaving the website in a manner of seconds and also increases a company’s trustworthiness by improving the communication with mobile users, taking into consideration their needs and expectations. Unfortunately, few companies really understand the importance of mobile optimization.

If you do not want to lag behind in the fast moving world of mobile internet access, taking care of the mobile compatibility of your website is the first step you must make.