Mobile-Only Users Take Lead in 1st Qtr 2015

As if there was any doubt, there is no clearer harbinger that we've reached and surpassed the mobile tipping point than Google’s latest mobile-friendly algorithm release. Starting in April 2015, the Google Search Engine prioritizes mobile-friendly sites for searches conducted on a mobile device.

Essentially, the algorithm evaluates the user experience by:

page displays within the screen width
closeness of hyperlinks for clickability
page loading time (under 1.4 seconds)
font size and readability

Here's some other signs that mobile is winning the "eyeballs battle".

Growth in "Mobile-Only" Continues

An April 2015 study by Comscore reports that for the first time mobile-only users have surpassed desktop-only users. Over the past year, mobile-only users have grown to 11.3% while the desktop-only population drastically declined to 10.6% from 19.1% in 2014. The numbers also tell us that the vast majority (78.1%) use multiple devices for online access. So what we are seeing is a higher comfort level among users to include mobile in their online toolbelt.

Single-Platform-Users-Share-of-Total-Digital-Population_reference.jpg

Mobile Email is on the rise

Perhaps, not coincidentally, according to a report just released by Yesmail Q1 2015, a sizable decrease in the gap between click-to-open rates (CTOR) of emails read on the desktop versus emails read on a mobile device occurred. While desktop is still leading in total CTORs the rate declined from (20.3% to 18.6%) while it simultaneously increased in mobile (12.6% to 13.7%) - an 8+ percentage change for both platforms.

BTW – “CTOR” measures click-thru as a percentage of opened emails, rather than as a percentage of emails delivered. While this increase is to some degree attributable to the increase in the responsive design of emails, there is certainly a correlation with the fact that mobile is becoming an increasingly used and trusted platform.

Get your mobile game on

In an increasingly mobile-world are you still operating like a desktop marketer? Even if the majority of your activity occurs on desktops how are you serving the needs of mobile users.

Footnotes:

Comscore, Number of Mobile-Only Internet Users Now Exceeds Desktop-Only in the U.S., April 28, 2015

Yesmail, Q1 2015 Email Marketing Compass: Mobile – the New Normal