It’s been about 13 years since Steve Jobs walked onstage and introduced us to the iPhone. You’d think by now we’d all have it under control – but the embarrassing truth is that some of us still create content that’s meant for laptop and desktop computers.
Why is this a bad idea? Mobile devices outnumber computers worldwide by about three to one. Over the past year, desktop Internet usage dropped by more than 8%. Meanwhile, mobile internet usage increased by nearly 11%. In the United States alone, 63% of online traffic comes from smartphones and tablets. If you depend on content as part of your inbound marketing engine, it had better be optimized for mobile devices.
If you’re saying you’ve got this covered because your WordPress theme is responsive, so everything gets resized and fits, you might want to think again. A responsive site isn’t enough. Content that reads well on computer screens doesn’t perform the same way on mobile devices. People read differently on their smartphones.
Besides, mobile responsiveness is not the same thing as mobile-first. A mobile responsive site uses CSS to adjust the elements of a webpage to conform to the device it’s viewed on. A mobile-first site is designed to be simple. And fast. You’ll get more attention from Google, which announced back in 2018 that page speed is a ranking factor for mobile searches.
Content read on computer screens does better when it takes advantage of an F-shaped pattern. Both designers and writers can take steps to help users find the most relevant information. The smaller smartphone screen just doesn’t have enough real estate to allow for this type of design.
What you share becomes more important than how it looks. You’ve heard this before. People don’t read what’s online. According to Don’t Make Me Think author Steve Krug, most people glance at a page, scan some of the text, and then click on the first link that catches their interest.
Let’s be fair. People will read every word you write in an article or blog post if they’re deeply interested in the subject. But they do want help. They’re expecting you to highlight meaningful information, keep paragraphs short, and offer scannable lists.
As Neil Patel says, you should turn your mobile content into bites, snacks, and meals. His approach is to chunk content for mobile devices.
With a mobile-first approach, your priority is to give mobile site visitors only the content they need, and exclusively designed – not repurposed – for touch screens. Sorry, no mouseovers here.
Content created – rather than optimized – for mobile consumers must become your primary approach. People are looking for quick and easy digestible bites of content. They’re looking for you to get to the point as soon as possible.
Mobile-first content follows a front-loaded approach, where you offer only the most important points, which probably will be bullet points, callouts, and graphics.
Does this mean as you’ll be writing less? Absolutely not. An interested prospect will gobble up as much relevant information as you can deliver. That information requires concentration, which might not be something they can invest in on their mobile device. Let them know where they can find the unabridged edition. You’ve just moved them further along the buyer’s journey.
Do you need help with creating content for your mobile visitors? Learn how we can help.