It’s no secret that meeting the needs of mobile customers becomes more important every year. “Mobile-first” design was a major step towards better mobile experiences for customers – but for some industries, a “mobile-only” approach is becoming the norm.

In fact, according to a 2018 report by comScore, mobile-only traffic has now eclipsed desktop-only traffic worldwide (30% vs. 24%). According to the World Economic Forum, an astonishing 68% of e-commerce in China is conducted with mobile-only payments, with mobile-only transactions equalling $790 billion in 2016 – 11x the revenue in the United States.

Obviously, this doesn’t hold true for all sectors and products; the majority of businesses still need to consider and optimise for multi-device performance as most users still use multiple devices. However, by splitting out campaigns into different devices, companies can uncover deeper insights from this rapidly growing PPC traffic share.

Before jumping into a mobile-oriented campaign – it’s important to review your data to validate this approach. Here are 8 important data points to review before setting your campaigns live.

1. Investigate differences between mobile, tablet, and desktop traffic

If it’s clear that mobile PPC traffic is underperforming or outperforming when compared to desktop or tablet traffic, it might be worthwhile creating a separate campaign just for mobile traffic.

By doing this, you can iterate with more focus on improving mobile PPC conversions.

2. Dig into your highest-converting keywords

On average, 80% of conversions stem from 20% of your PPC keywords – otherwise known as the Pareto principle.

In this case, it’s worthwhile to split campaigns by device type in order to maximise conversion opportunities for these valuable keywords.

3. Consider the unique value that mobile customers offer

If you are a business that relies heavily on inbound calls for your sales flow, then it’s definitely a good idea to create mobile-specific campaigns, add call extensions and set up call tracking.

If you’re an e-commerce company using shopping campaigns, splitting by device type can help identify gaps in performance and opportunities for optimisation.

If the data above points to potential wins for your product or business, now it’s time to build out your mobile-only campaigns. Mobile traffic intent can differ substantially from desktop traffic, and optimising UX needs for mobile customers requires a different approach.

4. Build your keyword strategy around action-oriented keywords

More than half of all mobile search traffic is looking to make a purchase within the hour.

From there, you can target this high-intent segment more directly and capture more of the share of these clicks.

Then, while configuring the campaign create device bid modifiers to exclude traffic from non-mobile devices.

5. Use relevant ad extensions to capture more space on results pages

On mobile, pixel space on the SERPs (search engine results pages) becomes increasingly important. Make sure that your ads take up the most space by using extensions that increase visibility on mobile screens.

Some particularly good ones are:

• Price Extensions
• Sitelinks
• Promo Extensions
• Call Extensions
• Location Extensions (if relevant)

If your company has an app, be sure to use App Extensions to increase install volume.

6. Present information in a quick and simple manner

Now we have high-quality mobile PPC traffic flowing, we need to consider their landing page experience and adjust our content to suit the needs of mobile users.

Mobile users have limited screen space, and require clear and concise design, so make sure your copy is clearly written and gets to the point, and that the most important information is immediately available. (This is equally important for copy in your ads and on your landing pages!)

And don’t forget: improving landing page experience has an effect on Quality Score and Ad Rank.

7. Think about screen size

Mobiles aren’t just getting smarter and faster, they’re also getting bigger.

Screen size impacts how many organic results are shown on mobile in comparison to smaller models. Depending on where your business falls in the search, potential customers might not be able to find you unless they use a larger screen.

So, if you want to be found on all mobiles, you need to make sure your mobile marketing strategies get you right at the top. That means PPC campaigns and SEO need to be at their best.

Remember: mobile websites have a big effect on your ranking and are the top indexing factor in Google’s mobile-first system. If you want your customers to find you, you need to make sure your website is optimised for mobile.

8. Review your language

For key CTAs, consider using “tap” or “swipe” instead of “click” in your ads or on your landing pages.

Your call to action should be very simple and easy to understand.

9. Optimise your landing pages for speed and information access

Mobile traffic often isn’t using the most reliable connection speeds, so be sure to keep your mobile landing pages lightweight with quick load speeds.

Now, as with all PPC campaigns, comes optimisation. Every customer persona has slightly different needs. Be sure to capture enough granular conversion data and split it by device type and keywords to review.

Using this data, you can continue to improve the CTR of every single touchpoint – and unlock the ever-increasing value of mobile-only customers.

Boost your sales through mobile PPC

Year on year, mobiles are becoming smarter, faster and more efficient.

Cementing themselves more and more into our daily lives, mobile PPC marketing is an investment that’s set to help boost your sales and profits. By 2020, mobile advertising is expected to make up over half of all digital ad spend.

That’s not to say that mobile marketing should be the only avenue for your business. Traditional and desktop marketing still are still profitable. But not catering to mobile users can damage your reputation and sales, making you lose potential customers who don’t want the hassle of waiting or switching to a desktop to buy.

Ultimately, it’s about knowing your audience and catering to them. If they’re on a smartphone, you should be too.