The rise of mobile
Google has launched GoMo as demonstrated in the video above which offers two primary functions- to test how your website performs on a mobile device and to help you become mobile, noting that consumers are increasingly reliant upon their smartphones and become frustrated when retailers, restaurants and destinations don’t have mobile-ready sites, and they tend to move on rather than battle the pinch/squeeze/jumpy site that isn’t optimized for mobile.
Google reports that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a site that’s not mobile-friendly and that consumer engagement increases by 85% with a website designed for mobile devices.
The Google GoMo (“Go Mobile”) initiative helps businesses to test how ready their site is for mobile devices. To test your site, go to HowToGoMo.com and enter the URL of your site, answer a few questions and see how you rank and how your customers see your website.
Building a free mobile site on Google
Not all industries are equipped to be mobile friendly and require custom development like insurance agents and Realtors, but retailers, service providers, restaurants and the like should be able to use Google’s free mobile website builder. The benefit is ensuring that mobile consumers are met with a site that functions, but it isn’t exactly your property, it’s on a Google site rather than the site you own, so customization is limited to the uploading of a logo and picking a color template.
Here is a quick overview of the mobile site through the eyes of a squeaky voiced kid-preneur:
