Choosing The Right Words for Your Mobile Website

November 22, 2011
Mike Dolpies

There’s a grand-debate going on.

And that is…

“Is a Mobile Website a Compressed (or to use a tech term, smooshed) version of my normal website with all the same words, all the same images, etc, etc? Or, is it a totally different website where I carefully select words, images and calls to action?”

For the vast majority of small business owners the answer is… “A different site.” Of course a mobile site works together with your desktop site. How? It gets served to the mobile visitor when it detects a mobile browser.

Sure it can be a .mobi address or it can be a m.yoursite address. The decision is based on your goals and the needs of your business.

But when it comes to content you must be careful. You can’t just throw all the same words and images up on your mobile website. You must be selective. You must “keep it pithy.” Why?

Have you ever heard someone in the news media say… “It was taken out of context!” Well, if you copy and past the words from your desk-top website on to your mobile marketing website you’ll be taking the content out of context. It really is that simple.

I guess you should take a lesson from Twitter…

Of course you have more than just 140 characters to work with but the harder you work to really get your best and least amount of words into your mobile site the better you’re going to be.

Think headlines, bullet points, basic (but effective) descriptions and compelling and concise offers. Remind your visitor she can click to call you at any time or fill in your form and request more information, or take you up on your offer.

What info to ask for on your mobile forms…

I am a big believer and practitioner of collecting physical addresses from website visitors when appropriate. But your “on the go” browsers should only be asked for name, email and mobile phone number. You’re much better off making sure you’ll get the lead and not scare them off by expecting them to use their thumbs too much.

How long should a mobile page be?

Again it depends on the context. If it is a report of some sort that will keep the reader’s eyes glued you can go as long as you must to get the message out. But for marketing purposes, one push of the thumb to the touch screen of the smart-phone should help your visitor navigate through a compelling headline, bullet points and offer.

The key take-away…

The small screen demands that you shorten your message and give your visitor a great experience. If you do, they will reward you by getting one step closer to doing business with your company.

To get started with your Mobile Marketing Website Visit Mobile Marketing CMS Now.

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About the author

Mike Dolpies Mike Dolpies (aka Mike D.) owns “Ocean View Publishing, LLC” - a diverse media/Internet Marketing and Consulting Company. He started his first business when he was just 18 years old. By the time he was 23 that business had generated well over a Million Dollars in sales and was consistently in the top 20% of its industry. He's the Author of 6 different books. His first book, “Motion Before Motivation, The Success Secret That Never Fails,” became a bestseller on Amazon.com He's been a guest on the Fox Morning News several times and has been written about in many newspapers. His work has also appeared on Entrepreneur.com and Fox Businsss.com