Mobile Web
Consumer Behavior
In order to grasp the tremendous potential and the possible pitfalls of the Mobile Web, one must first understand the unique motivations of mobile consumers. Mobile Web users exhibit different behavior when using a mobile device than when surfing the traditional Internet. Mobile Web users are not online simply to browse and surf the Internet. Rather, they are online with a specific need or purpose in mind and convenience is of the utmost importance to them.
Since users are often using a small numerical keypad or a QWERTY keypad, it is important to understand the relevant points of entry that such users will look to when they access the Web for information. As with the traditional Internet, users will access information either by using search engines or by navigating directly to a known or guessed Web address. Mobile Web users are typically looking for very specific information and they expect a quick and user-friendly experience. Since some of the first providers of relevant mobile experiences have been search engines, mobile users often look to companies like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN to provide the starting point for their experiences.
When searching the traditional Internet, direct navigators and specifically Freestyle navigators (users who combine brands with category descriptive terms when entering domain names) have found that they can find the information they want quickly by entering in very targeted domain names. It is likely that Mobile Web users will also use specific domain names to gain access to the information they are looking for. Since typographical errors are more likely to occur on mobile devices and each user’s expectations are different, owning the right domain names, and pointing them to relevant content is an important consideration.
Mobile devices give companies with consumer-facing Web sites the ability to speak to each of their consumers directly and fulfill their immediate needs at an exact location and time. As the Mobile Web continues to develop, it will become increasingly important for companies to consider developing Mobile Web content that more effectively promotes their brands and products. It is important to consider consumer behavior and their preferred methods of entry, as well as the type of experience a brand owner delivers to consumers when they attempt to find them.
We examined the two typical points of entry consumers may choose (Mobile Search and Mobile Direct navigation) in order to better understand their intents and behaviors:
Mobile Web users are looking for different content and different experiences than what is offered by traditional Internet sites. As a result search engines like Google are tailoring the format and relevance of their search engine results to better suit the unique needs of mobile consumers (specifically search, email, weather, sports, and maps). Last month, FairWinds sat down with Google Inc. to discuss the future of the Mobile Web and the role of search in providing better consumer experiences.
For Google, the mobile space will be the future of delivering relevant results to consumers. According to Dilip Venkatachari, director of product management for Google's mobile team, optimizing users’ mobile search experiences entails reducing data entry and including mobile-specific content in the results. This reduces the time a user spends trying to find the information they require and thus provides the user with a successful and quick experience. By focusing on search relevancy Google aims to make their search the premier starting point of all mobile experiences.
To see it in action, we performed a test (on a BlackBerry™ 8700) searching for a famous brand name that is commonly associated with a variety of categories – entertainment, consumer products, and news: Harry Potter™. What we noticed first was that unlike the traditional Internet, Mobile Web search results list natural and paid results together in a single, vertical pane. In addition, the results were organized nicely into expandable sub lists based upon what Google thought a Mobile user would be interested in. This included returning sub lists for local businesses, news, Web pages, and images. The order of the categories is a reflection of Google’s understanding not only of what the mobile consumer is interested in seeing, but how they want to act. In the case of the Harry Potter search, Google returned show times for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” at local theaters. Each theater listed an address, a click-to-call telephone number and show times - each of which was a hyperlink to Fandango.com where you could purchase tickets in advance.
Through the use of their algorithms and technology, Google is able to project that the mobile user is looking for the closest movie theater. This newfound ability to retrieve relevant information instantaneously will drive the usage and growth of the Mobile Web.
Regardless of what a particular user is searching for, Google and other search engines are working to reduce the number of clicks necessary for users to find what they are looking for. By saving zip code entries and leveraging GPS, mobile search engines are able to provide even more specific information.
Search engines recognize that the intentions of mobile users are different than those of traditional Internet users. By realizing this early on and by providing quick and relevant experiences, they aim to become the preferred point of entry to the Mobile Web for the growing number of mobile users.
While search engines lead others in the delivery of relevant mobile experiences, we need only look to the volume of traffic that goes to corporate Web sites to see an indicator that mobile users will attempt to find what they are looking for not only via search but also by using the domain name space. Since domain names offer the ability to provide a user with a very targeted entry point (UPS TRACKING, CHASE ATMS, STARBUCKS LOCATIONS for example), companies need to consider how they can use the combination of domain names and content to provide valuable experiences to their consumers.
Direct Navigators (users who enter their intended destination into a browser’s address bar) and specifically Freestyle Navigators (hoping that upstracking.com will place them directly on the page to track a package) require corporations to think about the importance of domain names with respect to providing improved customer experiences. Users that are taken to non-existent pages, pages that do not resolve properly, or third-party information rather than the content that they were looking for are likely to have a negative impression of the company or brand in question.
It is necessary for corporations to ensure that the domain names they own help deliver the expected content to traditional Internet users and that their Mobile Web content caters to the specific needs of mobile users. Unlike a traditional user, a mobile user is typically more interested in location-specific information such as where a bank’s ATM machines are located, the location of a retail store, or when and where a movie is playing. The opportunity to sell products via the Mobile Web may be years away, but the opportunity to interact with consumers and provide them with positive and relevant experiences is available now and is important in establishing positive impressions in the minds of consumers.
The difficulty of entering text on mobile devices, elevates the importance of registering typographical variations of names. Cramped alphanumeric and QWERTY keypads can turn even the most deliberate users into chronic typographical offenders. On the traditional Internet adjacent keys can wreak havoc on corporations that are intent on protecting and promoting their brands. On the Mobile Web, the problem is multiplied – not only by the concentration of keys, but also by the variation in keypad layouts including QWERTY, shared-key QWERTY, alphanumeric and symbol menus.
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