By The Numbers
- 40% of users searching on a mobile device will choose another search result if their initial choice is not mobile friendly.
- 50% of all website traffic will be from mobile internet users by the end of 2014.
- 57% of users won't recommend companies with poor mobile sites.
- 70% of mobile searches lead to action on websites within 1 hour!
Search Engines Love Responsive Websites
Search engines stress the importance of responsive web design. Having multiple websites with similar content can result in search engines penalizing the website for duplicate content. With responsive design, one website can deliver its content to all devices, resulting in improved SEO and search engine visibility. It gives the user a better experience, which means the user spends more time on a website - something that search engines take into consideration and reward.
To paraphrase Google:
"With increasing smartphone usage, making a website that is friendly to smartphone users has now become a critical part of website management ... it's recommended that content be delivered in optimized formats for both desktop and smartphone users."
Don't Get Bounced
Even if a website has good placement in search results, if it doesn’t work effectively for mobile and tablet users, the bounce rate (how quickly a user moves on to another site) will be a big problem. Mobile websites can suffer from a high bounce rate if the content they offer is too stripped down, or too dissimilar from the content offered on the desktop site. Search engines will interpret this high bounce rate as a sign that a website isn’t offering relevant content to users, which is likely to lead to a drop in rankings.
A responsive framework combats this problem by presenting all of the same content found on the desktop site, but in a functional way. This means that there is no need to compromise on the content you choose to display, and ensures visitors always receive the information they're looking for!
It makes Sense, and Cents
Since the future is certainly a mobile one, having a website design that fits all devices just makes sense. And since search engines love responsive sites (as do mobile users), having a responsive design for your website also makes a lot of cents!
Not sure what to do next? Contact Dryfive! We'll create a beautiful responsive website that's affordable and a breeze to manage!