Google announced in May of 2015 that mobile searches have overtaken desktop searches in 10 different countries. As we move deeper into 2016, with the rise of smartphones and tablets dominating web usage and into the age of surfing the web using wearable technology, the percentage of mobile usage will continue to skyrocket until using desktop computers is a thing of the past. Although Google has not released exact percentages, according to Google Analytics on all the websites that NJS Branding manages, an average of 65% of unique site visits is from mobile devices. The bottom line is that if your business's website is not mobile optimized, you may be losing over 50% percent of your potential online customers for your business.

We live in a day and age when a person first hears about your business, the first thing they do is Google is and most likely on their mobile device. Losing over 50% of online traffic for any business is devastating for both revenue and reputation. When most users look at a site on their mobile device that is not mobile optimized, what do you think they think about your business? I know what I think... Welcome to Amateur Hour! Let's look at the reason why:

I would compare the experience of navigating a website on a smartphone that is not mobile friendly to eating a steak with a plastic fork and knife. On second thought, that analogy does not even do it justice, it is like eating a steak blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back... yeah, thats about right. This experience makes a petite ballerina suffer from fat finger syndrome worse than grandpa typing an email on your iphone. As most of us well know, this is not an exaggeration and to make matters worse, a recent report released by Basekit showed that a staggering 91% of small business websites are not optimized for mobile use. This means that 9 out of 10 small businesses are losing over half of their online traffic.

Reports show that most users that encounter problems when browsing websites cause them to abandon the page. This means that if I'm looking for a restaurant in New York City on my iphone and I find a site on Google and proceed to open the website, if the page takes too long to load and the site is not mobile optimized, there is no question that I'm going directly to another restaurant where I can see the menu. Remember, this is happening in 9 out of 10 small businesses.

To make matters worse for websites that are not mobile optimized, Google rolled out a mobile friendly algorithm on April 21, 2015 which enhances search engine rankings for websites that are not mobile friendly. This means that if the same NYC restaurant that was on the first page of Google and it is not mobile optimized, it may drop off the first page and get lost in the slew of New York City restaurants. Don't let this happen to your business. Building a mobile optimized website is simple and easy.

Building a 100% Responsive Website that is Mobile Optimized is Cheaper and Easier than Ever

Build A Stunning Squarespace Site

To all the 9 out of 10 small businesses that are not mobile optimized, what are you waiting for? Is business tough and you don't what to shell out the money for a new website? You can build a beautiful site on Squarespace starting at $8 a month for the hosting. Squarespace has stunning websites that are easy to build. You don't have know any coding and the user interface is like using an Apple computer. Squarespace hired the experts behind Moz SEO to consult and build Squarespace sites optimized for the best ranking in Google. There are Squarespace experts you can hire to build your site on websites like upwork.com and elance.com. For $5 on Fiverr.com, you can get a halfway decent logo designed for you. For optimal results, we of course recommend hiring a full-service branding agency like NJS Branding to build your site on Squarespace for full brand integration, however, see what you can do on your own, it is easier than you think.

Wordpress Websites just aren't Sexy

Many website designers insist on building your website using Wordpress to create your website because it is what they are used it and they are not familiar with other platforms like Squarespace. These designers claim it has the most third party extensions... who cares? Squarespace includes almost everything you need built into Squarespace. Most of the websites that I've seen that have been built on Wordpress look dated, not polished... the antithesis of a sexy website. Make sure you find a website designer that is familiar with building Squarespace sites.

Optimizing Your Website

Website load speed is critical to reducing the bounce rate on your site and keeping your users engaged. The worst thing is to have a long load time before your site even opens causing the user to abandon your site. Your can analyze your bounce rate using Google Analytics on on your Squarespace backend office. Your website should load in less than 3 seconds or less. The file size of the images on your website has a major impact on your load speed. All the images on your website should not be more than 500K. If you purchase stock images, make sure that you reduce the file size below 500K before uploading to your website.

Take Action

If your small business is one of the 9 out of 10 small business that is not mobile optimized, take action today! You can have your new site live within 24 to 48 hours and make a significant impact on customers being able to find your business, customers purchasing your product or service and your overall brand image in the mind of your customer.

9 out of 10 Small Businesses lose over Half of their Online Customers