Seems like a simple enough question especially for those early
adopters that have already been hard at work creating a mobile
marketing platform. As a social media marketing agency, we
sometimes forget that not everyone is equally well versed as our
clients. Case in point, the question "What is mobile marketing?"
is actually the third most popular search term related to mobile
marketing. Why is this significant? For several reasons. First,
it demonstrates the fact that small business owners are still not
really sure what mobile marketing is or what it can do for their
business. Of course, if someone isn't really sure what mobile
marketing actually is, there is a higher than average probability
that they have no idea how to implement it as part of their
overall outreach strategy.
Today, we are going to cover the basics of mobile marketing as
part of a social media marketing strategy. According to none
other than Facebook CEO Zuckerberg, the future of social IS
mobile so it should come as no surprise that the two are very
closely related. While it is possible to implement a social media
marketing campaign without the use of mobile marketing, almost by
definition, mobile marketing is highly intertwined with that of
social. So the first thing most small business owners will need
to know is that mobile marketing is part of a social media
marketing strategy. When evaluating who will design, implement
and evaluate a mobile marketing campaign - search for a social
media marketing company with a proven track record of success.
Now that you know where to turn for help, it's time to begin
planning and preparing an overall mobile marketing strategy which
compliments your overall social media marketing campaign. While
mobile marketing mimics standard marketing in many ways, there
are some very important differences to keep in mind.
Current & Future Reach
One of the first bits of information you will want to know is
the percentage of current visitors that access your site via
mobile devices versus traditional desktop/laptop. The variability
tends to be quite high and often reflects the type of business or
service; for example, retail establishments frequently see as
much as half (50%) of all traffic derived from mobile access
whereas many service industries may see as "little" as 15% of
traffic derived from mobile access. Whatever the percentage, keep
the growth rate of mobile in mind when designing for future
access. Mobile access via cell phone, tablet or other device is
one of the fastest growing methods of accessing any type of
information today. For those that are unsure what percentages of
clients currently use mobile access, Google Analytics or your
current social media marketing firm is a great place to begin.
There are hundreds of thousands of apps out there in mobile cyberspace. And with gaming set as the top-selling mobile app category, it’s not often that smart phone users are going to come across your small business apps of their own accord.
So give your apps a little juice to make them more accessible and visible to consumers. Here’s how:
Make it the App-le of Google’s Eye
According to eBizMBA.com, Google is the most popular search engine out there, with over 700 million more unique visitors thus far this month than its nearest competitor. When consumers Google the name of a small business you’re working with, you want them to find – and immediately be able to download – the app you’ve created. So what’s the best way to go about getting your app in Google’s top searches for that company name?
An App by any Other Name is Just Plain Silly
Rule #1 in the mobile app search engine optimization world is to assign a name for your app that is easily identifiable and pertains to the company it is being used for. Therefore, naming your app “World’s Awesomest App” isn’t going to give anyone a clear idea of what kind of app it is – not to mention, a search for “world’s awesomest app” will result in lists of iPhone’s most popular apps, which sad to say, is likely not where your small business app lies.
So be sure – and we can’t emphasize this enough – to use the company’s brand name in the name of your mobile app so it’s identified and associated with exactly what it should be. Best of all, this practice makes the app easier to find in Google Search and displays as the anchor text in both the App Store and Android Market. If someone comes across your app there, they’ll know exactly what they’re going to get when they click on the link.
Similarly, you don’t want to create generic links to your app that say things like “click here.” Because if you Google “click here,” chances are you won’t find your mobile app anywhere. In fact, the first thing you’ll find is a download for Adobe Reader! So be sure to use phrases like “Download the Rad Boutique iPhone App Here,” or “Get the Stamp Collector Heaven App for Android” that hyperlink to your app. Again, emphasizing the brand gives Google a gentle nudge to find your app when the brand name is searched.
Power of the Press
If you happen to send out a press release to the local media announcing your new app, use the branded anchor text and link it to the download page for your app. If the release goes out online, that makes it easy-peasy for people to have immediate access to your creation.
Send your Apps Home
This may seem easy as app SEO pie, but you’d be surprised at the number of companies who forget to link their home page to their app. If you want your app to be easy to find, don’t make consumers navigate through a labyrinth of confusing pages and links to find it!
The same goes for the company’s mobile site. Smart phone users don’t want to scroll and try to get their sausage fingers to navigate through pages of tiny links just to locate your app…attention spans are short these days. So make sure the company links to your app from the top of the mobile site, and even the top of their desktop home page for convenience, simplicity and blaring visibility. Not only will this get your app downloaded more often, but it will actually help Google recognize your app as well, with the newly introduced Smartphone Googlebot web crawler. Just make sure you’re linking to the app with strong anchor text instead of images, or the web crawler won’t recognize it.
Social Media
Ever notice how when you Google something these days, you’re finding Facebook pages popping up? That’s because social media is a great way to advertise your app and give it a boost in Google’s search rankings. Each time you put out a new app, add the download URL to your Facebook profile, your LinkedIn profile, Google Plus, Pinterest, your personal blog, and anywhere else you can to give it more visibility.
Now you know how to optimize your apps for Google Search, which makes it easier for consumers to find and download your apps – how ’bout them app-les?
