As we continue to help businesses make their sites more mobile-friendly with the GoMo initiative, we’ll be illustrating the impact of mobile site best practices by spotlighting how a range of companies have created great mobile experiences for their users. Today, we look at the mobile success strategies of Ryland Homes.

One of America’s top five production new-home builders, Ryland Homes relies heavily on web-based sales and marketing efforts to sell directly to home-buyers. With a steady increase in mobile traffic to the Ryland desktop site, the company recognized it needed a mobile strategy to support its growing base of on-the-go prospects. “Our customers are out there moving around with their mobile phones, and they need to find things very quickly,” says Diane Morrison, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Ryland Homes, who drove the company’s mobile site initiative.

Ryland Homes used the following GoMo mobile site best practices to bring its mobile site to life:  
                                

Keep it Quick

Content was prioritized for mobile, with the most in-demand content included for fast access, from maps and photos to model details and quick move-in homes.

Simplify Navigation

The team employed intuitive site navigation features such as a persistent “Back”  and “Home” buttons, consistent colors and buttons, and a vertical-scrolling design.

Be Thumb-friendly

Ryland’s mobile site uses buttons instead of links. “It’s better than trying to get your finger to hit the little spot where the underlined text is,” notes Jason Grovert, The Ryland Group’s Chief Technology Officer.

Make it Accessible

Ryland uses jQuery Mobile software and responsive web design to load the site variation that works best with each user’s smartphone or tablet.  “There are different needs, and different ways that users interact with the mobile site that we had to design for and adapt to,” Grovert explains.

Make it Easy to Convert

The mobile site increases conversions with clickable phone numbers, location-based driving directions to communities, and brief information request forms.

Make it Local

The development team took advantage of uniquely mobile functionality such as device location detection to direct users to nearby Ryland communities.

Use Mobile Site Redirects

The Ryland Homes site intelligently detects which device type a user is visiting from and serves up the appropriate desktop or mobile optimized website. By adding a “View full site” link to the bottom of all pages of the mobile site, Ryland provides mobile users the option to always access the full version of their website.

Listen, Learn and Iterate

Ryland continues to iterate and improve on the current site (which launched in March 2011), and is planning additional features such as tell-a-friend and model floor-plans. The team also produced an iPhone app, but Grovert says, their strategy was “web first, not app first,” because of the mobile web’s wider device coverage.

The Ryland team also uses locally targeted, mobile-only Google AdWords campaigns to drive site traffic, not only spurring leads and conversions, but also saving the company approximately 30 percent per-conversion compared to the cost-per-conversion for desktop web-targeted AdWords campaigns.

Ryland’s mobile site has built on its success from day one, with traffic up an impressive 300 percent by August from its March launch. In July, Ryland Homes also logged its first home sale that began with a mobile lead. That milestone, along with steadily increasing site traffic, Morrison says, are “early-on proof that the mobile site is really working for us.”

Download the full PDF version of the Ryland Homes case study. To learn more about how to make your website mobile-friendly, register for our webinar “Making Mobile-Friendly Websites: Best Practices in Action,” which will take place on November 10 at 11 am PST/ 2 pm EST.  And visit HowToGoMo.com to get more resources and tools to Go Mobile!

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

Today, as part of GoMo--an initiative launched this week to help businesses “Go Mobile” by giving them tools and resources to build a website that works well on smartphones--we’re announcing Mobilizing Mobile.  This series of events will offer Mobile, Alabama area businesses the opportunity to have their desktop sites “mobilized” and hosted free of charge for one year,1 as well as the chance to participate in educational sessions.

So why are we mobilizing Mobile?  When we started thinking how to encourage businesses to build mobile-ready websites, we realized that it would be powerful to mobilize an entire city that could serve as a model for the rest of country--and the world.  Initially, we were drawn to Mobile because of the fun alliteration, which we thought would draw the attention of business leaders in and outside the area. Looking beyond the name, though, we found a city with a wide range of industries, an incredible level of business growth and a well-developed infrastructure -- and a place where we could quickly make a real impact.  And like most other cities in the US, many of Mobile’s businesses lack mobile optimized websites.  It was the perfect candidate to be the first city to ‘GoMo’.

So get ready, Mobile, AL, because from November 14-16, small businesses, large businesses and advertising agencies in the greater Mobile area can learn about mobile marketing strategies and work one-on-one with Google and DudaMobile to get their business on the mobile web.  A business can come in to the event without a mobile friendly site in the morning and leave with a site ideal for the mobile web live that afternoon!  

We hope you’ll join us for some or all of the Mobilizing Mobile activities.  Space is limited so please sign up through the links below or at www.howtogomo.com/AL.

November 14, 6:30 PM -- Mobile for Advertising Agencies

• Edward Boches, Chief Innovation Officer from Mullen Advertising, and Jason Spero, Head of Mobile Advertising for Google, discuss the importance of mobile for agency clients. Followed by networking and cocktails.
• Space is limited. Please request an invitation here.

November 15-16, 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM -- Mobilization Jams

• If you’re a small business and don't have a mobile-friendly website we'll help you get started. We'll also share tools and resources to help your business succeed online and maximize the mobile opportunity.  Attendees will receive a $75 Adwords credit.  Sessions include:
• Get a Free Mobile Website (30 minutes): Create your free customized mobile website in a 30-minute consultation with DudaMobile, a trusted mobile site developer.
• Growing Your Business Online (1 hour): Learn more about Google's top tools for small businesses, including Google Places, Google AdWords, Google Analytics, and Google Apps. Discover how to get found and attract customers.
• Maximizing Mobile for Your Business (1 hour): A more in-depth session on how to use AdWords on desktop and mobile to grow your business, along with tips on mobile site design.
• Space is limited. Please register here.

November 15, 7:00 PM -- Mobile for Larger Businesses

• This event will provide leaders from larger businesses with the information they need to get onto the mobile web and start planning their mobile strategy. Followed by a networking reception.
• Space is limited. Please register here.

For those of you who don’t live in Mobile, we’ll keep you updated on Mobilizing Mobile by way of this blog and on Twitter #gomobile.  If you want learn more about how to GoMo, please tune in to our webinar, “Making Mobile-friendly Websites: Best Practices in Action” on November 10 at 11am PST/2pm EST.  

Mobilians, we look forward to seeing you soon!  Get ready to GoMo!

Posted by Jesse Haines, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

1Conditions apply, please see howtogomo.com/AL for details.

Yesterday we introduced you to the GoMo initiative and today we take a deep dive to share what makes for a good mobile website experience.  

Just because you can see your website on a smartphone doesn’t mean that it’s mobile-friendly!  Think about what your customers are experiencing when they view your site on their mobile devices. Can they easily read what’s on the screen without pinching and zooming? Do you have lots of links, which are hard to click, instead of buttons which make it easier to click the right thing?  Answers to questions like these can help determine if the people visiting your website can easily complete their desired task on the site, such as purchasing something or contacting you. Read on to learn more about how you can make your site mobile-ready.

1800flowers.com and ABC Family’s mobile sites embody many mobile best practices

1.    Keep it quick.  Mobile users are often short on time so it’s important that your site loads fast, content is easy to scan, and key information is easily accessible.  Compress images to ensure your site loads quickly.  Prioritize site information and features that mobile users want and use most. A look at your website analytics can help you determine content that is most popular with your mobile users.

2.    Simplify navigation.  Use a clear hierarchy for navigation that users can click to drill down and avoid using rollovers. Try to have your content fit on the screen but when scrolling is needed, use vertical scrolling. For large sites with lots of information, have a search box prominently available. Clear back and home buttons on each page also help users easily navigate a mobile site.

3.    Be thumb-friendly.  People use their fingers to scroll, swipe and select on touchscreen mobile devices. Use large, centered buttons and increase their padding to reduce accidental clicks of the wrong item.

4.    Design for visibility.  Content should fit onscreen and text should be readable without users having to pinch and zoom to enlarge.  Making use of negative space, creating contrast between background and text and using color to indicate link/ button priority makes it easier to read text on a mobile phone.

5.    Make it accessible. Ideally your mobile site should work across all mobile devices and handset orientations. Avoid using Flash as that does not display on many smartphones. Adapt your site for both horizontal and vertical orientations.

6.    Make it easy to convert.  Make it easy for customers to buy or contact you while on your mobile site by reducing the number of steps to complete a transaction and including click-to-call functionality. Focus on key information that aids conversion – product details, photos, location info. Keep forms short and use check boxes, lists and scroll menus to make data entry easier.

7.    Make it local. Looking for local information is one of the most popular smartphone uses. Include a clickable local business number and your address or store locator on your homepage. Take advantage of the location based capabilities of mobile phones and include maps, directions and prioritized information based on the user’s proximity.

8.    Make it seamless.  Users often go back and forth between their mobile phones and their computers. Prominent access to Login, Shopping Cart and Favorites features help users easily retrieve information between devices. Ensure users have a consistent experience by providing the same key product info and features in both desktop and mobile websites.

9.    Use mobile site redirects. A mobile site redirect is code that is added to your regular website that automatically detects if visitors are coming from a mobile device and redirects them to your mobile site.  Also give users the option to go to your full website from your mobile site so they can choose the version that best meets their needs.

10.  Listen, learn and iterate.  Your site doesn’t need to be perfect and comprehensive before you launch! It’s more important to launch, test and learn to see what works. Collect user feedback, use website analytics for insights and continue iterating and improving your site.  

To get a detailed set of these best practices, download a copy of the 10 Mobile Site Best Practices. Visit howtogomo.com to explore actual mobile site examples of each best practice and use the GoMoMeter to see how your current site is faring on mobile. To learn even more, join us in our webinar “Making Mobile-friendly Websites: Best Practices in Action” on November 10 at 11am PST/2pm EST.  Have additional tips on what makes a good mobile site? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

On a crisp fall day, a young person uses his smartphone to find a store that sells scarves. He searches, finds your site, and clicks-thru, prepared to browse your inventory of scarves, or find your store nearby and buy one. But, after he clicks to your site he runs into trouble - it doesn't load fully, and he spends more time zooming-in and squinting than he does looking at scarves! Frustrated, he gives up and looks for another scarf store. You lose a potential customer.
This happens hundreds, even thousands of times every day because most businesses’ websites don’t work well on smartphones. The most important thing you can do to grow your business using the mobile web is to create a mobile-friendly website.  So today we’re launching an initiative called GoMo that helps businesses “Go Mobile”.

What’s a mobile-friendly site?  It’s a website designed specifically for mobile users and mobile devices.  It’s fast to load and easy to use—no pinching and zooming required.  Some great examples are right here.

Every day more and more of your customers are looking for you…on mobile devices.  If you don’t have a site that works for mobile, you’re missing out.  61% of users are unlikely to return to a site that’s not mobile-friendly.1  On the other hand, customers embrace sites that are built for mobile--consumer engagement increases by 85% with a website designed for mobile devices.2

So, are you ready to Go Mo?  Visit howtogomo.com where you’ll find the resources you need to learn about what makes a good mobile site and to start building one.

 See how your site performs on mobile phones with the GoMoMeter.

Here’s what you’ll find at howtogomo.com:

• See what your customers see.  Enter a website address into the GoMoMeter and see what your site looks like on a mobile phone.  The GoMoMeter will analyze your site and give you customized recommendations on how to make your site more mobile friendly.  You can even download a free customized report!
• Learn about why mobile matters:  Cool infographics and the latest data will help you learn more about mobile trends and why mobile-friendly sites really matter.
• Get inspired by great examples: Look at the mobile sites of businesses who are doing it right and learn how to make your site better with our ten mobile site best practices.
• Find a mobile site builder who can help: Check out our list of mobile site developers who can help you build your mobile website.

Check out this video to learn more about howtogomo.com and how it can help your business.



You can register for our webinar “Making Mobile-Friendly Websites: Best Practices in Action,” which will take place on November 10 at 11 am PST/ 2 pm EST.  And check this blog all week; we’ll be featuring lots of great mobile site tips and new case studies.

Mobile is critical to your business, and now GoMo makes it easy for you to make your mobile-friendly site.  So, no more excuses!  Check out howtogomo.com and Go Mobile!

1,2Compuware and Brand Anywhere and Luth Research


Posted by: Jesse Haines, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

Not sure how to most effectively leverage and measure your mobile marketing campaigns? Well, you’re not alone. While mobile is an incredible new way to distribute content and reach customers on the go, it also presents a unique challenge when it comes to measuring the impact of our mobile efforts (like applications, advertisements or mobile-optimized websites).

We just wanted to remind you to tune in this week to Google’s Think Mobile webinar, Mobile Advertising: Right Person, Right Time, Right Message - Finally!, led by Avinash Kaushik, Digital Marketing Evangelist. Avinash will share tips and best practices for mobile marketing campaigns, new metrics unique to mobile, and how best to measure mobile ads and websites.

• When: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 9-10:30am PST/ 12-1:30pm EST
• How: Register here

Posted by Kevin Otsuka, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

HP launched a campaign to build awareness and preference for its ink cartridge products. As part of the digital marketing program, HP took advantage of Google’s mobile rich media capabilities to engage consumers on smartphones and tablets.

The rich media ads featured a short interactive game that HP developed for Android and iOS phones and tablets. Users could drag their fingertips across the screen to guide a net and
capture floating butterflies and score points for coupon savings while learning about the HP supplies value proposition.

As it turned out, HP’s playful mobile experience yielded impressive results. Within seven weeks, HP drove significant engagement with consumers. The campaign, executed with the help of mobile agency Airwave, resulted in:

• Over 400,000 games played
• 15% of consumers replaying the game
• Over 26,000 video views

HP took notice of the mobile engagement rates and are now considering other ways to take advantage of the rich creative palette that mobile can provide. According to Tariq Hassan, VP WW Marketing and Communications at HP, “Our customers are looking to mobile devices for entertainment as well as education. Through this collaboration with Google, we were able to deliver both at the same time, giving our customers valuable information about our products in a fun and engaging way.”

Posted by Kevin Otsuka, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

Did you know that 33 % of the Spanish population actually has a smartphone (Ipsos GmbH & TNS Infratest)? Through the recently released research site ourmobileplanet.com we have seen that among major European countries Spain is now leading the smartphone revolution. The study reveals that in terms of parallel media usage, 50 % of Spanish smartphone users are actively browsing the Internet while listening to music and 35 % of users are in fact using the Internet on another device simultaneously. The Spanish are also actively using their mobile when searching their neighbourhood; 55 % have looked up directions or used a map and 45 % have performed a local search for a business.

Spain has highest smartphone penetration in Europe

And how are companies responding to this situation? During Think Mobile we held a few weeks ago in Madrid, eDreams & Telepizza shared how they are building their mobile strategy and The Cocktail highlighted mobile trends and the new mobile user experience in Spain. An example we mentioned earlier on this blog is Meliá Hotels International, who have seen an increase in mobile transactions by twelve since they launched their mobile site. Although we have these great examples of companies who are embracing mobile, our internal data shows that only 10 % of large companies in Spain have developed a mobile website.

Alberto Knapp, CEO of Cocktail presenting at Think Mobile

Therefore, to catch up with the mobile user, businesses need to go mobile now. Find out how with the presentations and mobile research statistics from Think Mobile Spain.

Posted by Frank Albert Coates, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile ads & Laura Abarquero, Head of Mobile advertising Spain